TEEN SUBSTANCE ABUSE
On our last article, we started one of the most challenging topics for our children, which is adolescent substance abuse. The results always hit families hard if the child is involved in it. Just to remind you what I wrote about, I shared a story of someone I know who got involved in smoking because he was being bullied for his confidence. Other kids used to skip lessons to smoke with the wrong gang when I was in high school.
This issue continues to affect generations, and it always starts with teenagers. They learn a lot, whether good or bad, from their peers, especially in high school. To continue with this issue, let’s look at some of the causes of substance abuse. As I mentioned before, when a child reaches puberty, a lot of changes happen. As a parent, you can notice this. A child may be going through some stress and, instead of talking about it with you, they can end up taking a drastic route to communicate or comfort themselves, especially a boy child. Sometimes it’s because a child is being bullied by his/her peers, like the friend I wrote about, so they end up joining a bad company to try and fit in. Maybe a child comes from a family that drinks and smokes. They grew up seeing everyone in the family doing it in front of them, and sometimes they were sent to buy cigarettes or alcohol. A child may also feel under or over-controlled by parents or have poor performance in class.
Some signs of children involved in substance abuse can be a change in physical appearance or poor hygiene, glazed or bloodshot eyes. Sometimes they are paranoid, get irritated, and have anxiety. Others change mood and attitude and have difficulty staying on task or staying focused. Misuse of substances in teens has short-term and long-term side effects.
It can affect their studies and interfere with their future. A child can make a wrong decision that may ruin everything good with the people around them. They can act in a way that may lead them to trouble—for example, fighting or using vulgar language—which can ruin their image in society. Some long-term effects can include brain damage, being at risk of diseases like HIV/AIDS or cancer, suffering from depression and anxiety, and having suicidal thoughts, attempting suicide, or even worse, committing suicide.
As parents/guardians, teachers, and the community at large, we can fight and help children fight this monster as well. It’s important to teach them about substance abuse and its dangers while they are still young. We can join campaigns against drugs and spread awareness in schools. As parents, it’s crucial to know your teen’s activities, pay attention to their whereabouts, establish rules and consequences, know their friends, provide support, and build a healthy relationship with your children. Always create a healthy and safe environment for them and set a good example. Let’s normalize taking and encouraging our children to go for counseling.
Chedza makombo is the founder of Positive You by Chedza,a Mentor and Life Coach Cell:71377816/74872515 Facebook:Positive You by Chedza LinkeIn:Chedza Makombo
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What causes vertigo? Also, is it so serious that it requires medical care? Wanani
Dear Wanani
Vertigo refers to imbalance because of feeling that you or the world is spinning. It lasts between a few seconds and hours, though severe vertigo can last for weeks or months. Symptoms of vertigo may be a feeling of spinning, tilting, imbalance or swaying, and this may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, headache, abnormal eye movements, sweating, hearing loss or ringing ears (tinnitus). Most of the time, vertigo happens due to problems in the inner ear, since the inner ear is important in coordinating movement and balance. The inner ear problems could be due to: BPPV: It stands for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. This refers to episodes of mild to intense dizziness that are triggered by change in the position of the head or by lying down. It can also cause loss of balance, feeling that the room is spinning, abnormal eye movements, nausea and vomiting. Most of the time, there is no known cause for the BPPV, though in some people it may be triggered by a head injury. It can also occur due to inner ear problems or due to prolonged periods lying on the back, for example, for a dental procedure.
Meniere’s disease: Thought to be caused by fluid build up and pressure changes in the inner ear, that can cause vertigo, a ringing sensation and hearing loss.
Vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis: Inflammation of the vestibular nerve, usually due to viral infection Other possible causes of vertigo include head injury, stroke, brain tumour, migraines, some medications. Anxiety and stress can worsen the vertigo.
Treatment depends on the cause. Possible treatments include anti-histamine medication (meclizine or cinnarizine) to reduce the vertigo or physical vestibular rehabilitation to help improve coordination and balance.
If you have BPPV, an ENT doctor or a physiotherapist can help manage the symptoms by taking you through some manoeuvres called canalith repositioning. These manoeuvres help to restore balance by repositioning parts of the inner ear. You can also be taught how to do this positioning on your own. If this doesn’t work, there is a surgical procedure that can be done in the ears. Surgery can also be done to remove brain tumours. Management of underlying conditions can help reduce the symptoms e.g. treatment of migraine headaches; antibiotics to treat infection; steroids to manage inflammation; diuretics to reduce the fluid build-up in Meniere’s disease.