DRUG ADDICTION

NARKOMANIYA is a common name for a number of serious diseases characterized by an irresistible attraction to drug use with the development of mental and physical dependence. Types of drug abuse differ in the drug used. The term "narcotic drug" includes 3 mandatory criteria: medical (the specific effect of the drug on the CNS, leading to its repeated reception), social (the scale of non-medical consumption of this drug is of social significance) and legal (the official inclusion of the substance in the list of drugs). Abuse of other psychoactive substances refers to substance abuse.

Sick drug addicts are more likely to be easily suggested persons, deprived of interests, poorly controlling their desires, persons with features of mental infantilism, as well as pathological traits. The rate of development of drug addiction depends on the chemical structure of the drug, the mode of its administration, the frequency of administration, dosage and individual characteristics of the organism. With different types of drug addiction, narcotic intoxication, along with differences, has a common feature - the emergence of a subjectively pleasant state (euphoria, "buzz"). The initial stage of drug addiction is the transition from episodic to regular (daily) drug use, sometimes changing the way the drug is injected (from inhaling heroin to its intravenous injection), increasing endurance to it, and becoming addicted to drug intoxication.

Opium addiction (morphine). Reception of opiates (artisanal preparations of opium, morphine, codeine, promedol, heroin) causes a feeling of pleasant warmth, stroking the skin, painless "push" in the head, a state of bliss. Then a quick change of pleasant ideas begins against a background of blissful peace with dreamlike fantasies. Predisposing factors in the development of morphine in recent years are not so much diseases with a pronounced pain syndrome, as psychopathy and other kinds of mental instability, pathological curiosity. With the transition of abuse to the stage of the disease, peculiar changes in the personality (falseness, rudeness, selfishness, narrowing of interests in obtaining drugs) and somatic disorders (appetite and digestion disorders, weight loss, sweating, paresthesia, appearance of eczema, oppression of sexual function) are developing more and more, as well as Constant miosis. Acute morphine poisoning is characterized by the appearance at first of euphoria and excitement, which are followed by sharp weakness, dizziness, frequent urination, tachycardia, narrowing of the pupils, increasing drowsiness, turning into a state of stupor and coma.

Symptoms of withdrawal from drug deprivation begin to form after 3-4 of his injections. The first signs of withdrawal occur 6-18 hours after the last reception: yawning starts, tear and salivation, itching in the nose and nasopharynx, hyperhidrosis. On the 2nd day, lomiting joint pains, limb cramps , restlessness, insomnia, chills, tachycardia , increased blood pressure appear. Against the background of altered consciousness, psychotic episodes can develop. The greatest manifestation of these phenomena occur on the 2nd-4th day and then gradually subsided within 5-11 days.

Cocaine addiction has become prevalent now due to the appearance of "crack" - a high-temperature cocaine drug that can be manufactured in artisanal conditions. With a single intake of cocaine comes euphoria, a person becomes talkative, overly active, feels a desire for action. After 2 to 3 hours, weakness, apathy and irritability develop, accompanied by tremors, decreased muscle tone and tachycardia. In case of an overdose, death comes from paralysis of the respiratory center. Cocaine is usually sniffed, but also swallowed, injected into a vein and smoked. Adaptation occurs very quickly, the psychic dependence is formed after several receptions, but obvious signs of physical dependence do not appear soon. Cocaine can be considered a crime drug because, unlike sluggish and passive opium addicts, cocaine addicts are insolent, self-confident and aggressive. The degradation of personality is even deeper than with morphine. Sleep disorders take a persistent character. Developing psychotic outbreaks are characterized by delusions of jealousy, persecution or accompanied by frightening hallucinations; Characteristic for cocaine tactile hallucinosis (it seems to patients that the skin is crawling with bugs, worms, bugs, etc.).

Hashish addiction is the abuse of cannabis drugs. Single smoking cannabis can cause a slight intoxication with a surge of strength and a heightened perception of the environment. Dependence develops slowly, but this type of drug addiction often encourages the reception of more powerful drugs. With the systematic use and overdoses of the drug, psychoses like manic with vivid illusions and hallucinations can occur, which are accompanied by symptoms of hyperesthesia, a distortion of the sense of time and space, derealization and depersonalization. Gradually, there is a decrease in the range of interests, memory is broken, asthenia develops, patients seek solitude and loneliness. Psychoses with auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions of persecution and relationships can suddenly develop. Hashish almost does not cause physical dependence (psychic can be quite strong!), A break in taking the drug is accompanied by mild withdrawal symptoms (sleep disturbances, increased excitability, decreased appetite, sweating, unpleasant sensations in the heart).

Treatment . Although modern rather effective curative programs (clonidine, tramal, methadone, etc.) allow us to suppress non-aggravated cases of drug abstinence even in outpatient settings, full-scale complex therapy is possible only for the narcological hospital for 2 or more months (in severe cases with plasmapheresis) ..

The basic tactic of the average medical personnel in the treatment of drug addiction is based on that immutable criterion that a drug addict is primarily a sick person. The climate in the department from the moment of receipt of the patient must be strictly medical, the patient should immediately establish the limits of his possible requirements; Any exception to the rules in the conduct must meet a resolute "no" staff; Shy and less demanding nurses can quickly be at the mercy of patients. Thus, average medical workers should develop patient, at the same time merciful and strict attitude towards patients with sincere interest in their fate.