Behavior and medical care in case of “withdrawal pain”
It may often happen that parents start realizing for the first time that their child uses drugs only when their son or daughter has an abstinent drug syndrome — withdrawal pain.
The panic for an adult at that time cannot be described. Mother or father loses their head and start ringing up any available for them telephones indicated in any advertising newspaper at hand.
What should you actually do?
- It is necessary to stop the inner panic. Tears are no help in sorrow. Yes, there appeared a problem in your family. This problem is very difficult, but it is solvable.
- Remember! Drug addicts do not die from withdrawal pain! They die from that dirty thing they introduce into their body. Occurrence of withdrawal pain means that this chemical nasty thing at that moment practically is not present in the body.
- Measure teenager’s blood pressure. The abstinent syndrome can be dangerous, only if the young man’ blood pressure is very low. It is dangerous, if the upper digits of the arterial pressure are below 90 (if your child does not suffer from hypotension, withdrawal pain becomes dangerous at pressure lower than 90/60 mm Hg). If blood pressure is lower than that, you should appeal to the doctor immediately.
- Immediately demand that your child should visit a doctor together with you the next day. The teenager, practically in one hundred percents of cases will give the consent and you can take advantage of that later.
- You can give a teenager 2-3 tablets of any analgetic you have at home. Baralgin, spasmalgon, etc. will work.
- You may risk once and give the child 2 tablets of any calming preparation you can find in your first-aid kit at home or in the first-aid kit of your neighbours or relatives. Do not forget to see, what calming preparation you are giving. And the next day at your visiting the doctor tell him, what pills you gave. In any case do not give more than 2 tablets. The only thing you should not give on no accout is strong drinking and calming preparations on the alcoholic basis (do not give valocordin, corvalol, etc.).
- You can use the method offered by American theraist Margaret Rozen: undress your child from the top to the belt and place on not a very soft bed or couch. Warm your hands and put them on the shoulders of the lying teenager. Slowly, with patting movements, without putting your hands away, move your palms from the shoulders along the spine to the loins, trying softly to relax the muscles of your child. You will feel the tense groups of muscles with your hands as bumps under the skin. Do not press them hard. They will relax under soft patting touches. It is simply an active form of paternal caress. The dad is always more affectionate to his daughter, and mother - to the son.
- If it takes place in the evening, remember that your family can survive this night. No need to try to take some responsible decision on immediate beginning of treatment at night, it is better to go quietly to the clinic in the beginning of the next day.
(From book by A. Danilin and I. Danilina «The way to save children from the drugs», M., 2001)
Other articles:
Chemical addiction. Conception of illness
The first signs showing that your child began using drugs
Is it is possible to cure a drug addict?
Methadone. Is it a replacement therapy?
Psychostimulants. Cocaine. Amphetamines.
Behavior and medical care in case of “withdrawal pain”
