Socioeconomic status & health risks

This blog post stems from an article that was posted this morning by @LaDonna Coy from a ScienceDaily article entitled "Low Socioeconomic Status Affects Cortisol Levels in Children Over Time" (January 21, 2010).  When we think of the challenges children face, it's important to keep in mind the influence of environmental factors but to still explore how we can build assets and have meaningful relationships with children despite - or maybe because - of their situations. 

While reading this particular article, I was reminded of the PBS Series "Unnatural Causes" which addressed themes of racism, infant mortality, poverty, diabetes and the impact of chronic stress on the health of our nation.  If you have some time, I encourage you to read the article and view the trailer of this film.  In addition, I encourage you to think of ways YOU can (and/or continue to) build assets in your community so that youth - and communities -  can thrive!

Learn more about the 40 Development Assets  and Thriving & Sparks from Search Institute

Chronic Pain: Risk Management

Over the course of the last hour I came across three separate yet related articles that address the issues regarding the treatment and management of chronic pain.  Below you'll find links to each article so please feel free to offer your perspective about what patients chronic pain patients might need to function, what doctors are up against and the addiction & overdose risks attached to these particular drugs (Oxycontin, methadone, Vicodin, etc).

Pain Management Fails Due to Rx Drug Abuse Fears 

(Pain-Topics.org, January 8, 2010)

"Millions of Americans with significant acute or chronic pain are being undertreated as physicians fail to provide comprehensive pain treatment, according to recent reviews. The failure is due to inadequate training of physicians, personal biases and, increasingly, fears of prescription analgesic drug abuse." Read On...

Managing the Emotional Aspects of Pain 

(Crossroads for Women blog, January 15, 2010)

"A recent article found on CNN.com talked about how living with chronic pain can hurt personal relationships. Michael E. Geisser, a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Michigan, states in the article, “It has been shown that relationships in which one partner has chronic pain tend to be more strained, have more marital distress, more conflict, and a greater likelihood for divorce.” Read On...

Even Legitimate Opioid Use May Cause Overdose 

(Reuters Health, January 19, 2010)

"Perhaps it's not surprising, but people who take high doses of opioid painkillers even for legitimate medical reasons are at risk of overdosing, new research shows." Read On...


For local and national treatment options, please visit SAMHSA's Treatment Locator at: www.findtreatment.samhsa.gov .  In Maine you can also dial 211 or visit www.211maine.org 

For parents, a child’s addiction also brings social stigma (Patriot Ledger)

(Hat Tip: NOPE TaskForce)

The Patriot Ledger

Posted Jan 09, 2010

BRAINTREE — Bill Brids wakes up every morning knowing that today could be the day his 20-year-old son goes back to heroin. He knows that it could be the day his son dies. It started at 16, when Dave Brids dipped into his mother’s stash of pills. She was dying of cancer. “I was drinking, and one night we couldn’t get beers,” Dave Brids said. “So I tried the drugs (Oxycontin), and I fell in love.” He didn’t know that what he was taking was essentially the same drug he swore he’d never use. Heroin was for junkies. “I looked at it as smoking weed and drinking beer,” Dave Brids said. “Little did I know it was a pharmaceutical form of heroin.”

Read the full story HERE

If you would like more information on treatment options and support for anyone suffering from opiate addiction visit any of these sites:

SAMHSA's Treatment Locator -

http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/ 

Narcotics Anonymous (Maine) -

www.namaine.org

Maine Office of Substance Abuse -

www.maineosa.org

Portland Public Health Division -
http://substanceabuse.portlandmaine.gov/resourcesforsouthernme.pdf

Peer Pressure is What Made Me Use Drugs and Alcohol (INTERVENE @ DrugFree.org)

"As a young girl, two of the more traumatic things I went through were growing up with an alcoholic parent and my parents’ divorce. I tried to stuff the void I experienced with drugs and alcohol.  I never even considered the idea that I might become an alcoholic or drug addict, and I swore to myself that I would never end up like my father.  However, as I would later find out, the cards were stacked against me.  My family’s long history of drug and alcohol addictions played a huge role in where I ultimately ended up. The lifestyle itself was so familiar to me that it didn’t even register that I wouldn’t be able to stand up to the pressure to succumb to it."

Read the full post: http://intervene.drugfree.org/2009/12/peer-pressure-is-what-made-me-use-drugs-and-alcohol/

Parent reports underage drinking party (21 Reasons)

From 21 Reasons Talk Blog:

"Over the weekend, Portland police broke up an underage drinking party, thanks to the report of a parent whose teen was involved:

Charges stem from Portland teen party

PORTLAND – Police broke up a party during the weekend involving 35 to 40 teenagers, mostly from Deering and Portland high schools. Police were called to 16 Hope Ave. at 11:50 p.m. Saturday, after the parent of a teenager who had been drinking at the party reported it, police said …Police issued a court summons to a 16-year-old for furnishing the alcohol. [A father and son] were ordered to appear in court on charges of furnishing a place for minors to drink.

Reporting a party can be difficult choice for a parent, and we appreciate this parent’s decision to prioritize the health and safety of the young people involved. It’s up to each one of us to help make sure youth are safe, and we all are responsible for reporting dangerous situations—like underage drinking parties.

To those who are wondering, “What’s the big deal as long as they’re not driving?...
READ THE FULL POST HERE

Learn more about preventing underage drinking by visiting www.maineparents.net or www.21reasons.org

Many Parents Encourage Underage Drinking, Australian Study Finds (ScienceDaily)

ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2009) — Half of Australian adults and 63 per cent of Australians on a higher income believe 15- to 17-year-olds should be allowed to consume alcohol under parental supervision at home, according to the latest MBF Healthwatch survey.

Read the full article HERE...

What these Australian parents are missing is that there are other significant risks to underage drinkers such as: poor school performance, addiction, violence, suicides, sexual assault, falls, drowning...
 
To learn more about how you can prevent underage drinking here in Maine, visit www.maineparents.net

To learn more about the risks and consequences of underage drinking, visit www.niaaa.nih.nida.gov

A Stocked Bar For Holidays Can Be Introduction To Addiction

Most people would not believe that a fully stocked refrigerator and bar could precede an alcohol or drug addiction later in life.

A survey by SAMSHA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) in June 2008 revealed that 650,000 underage drinkers in May 2008 were given alcohol by their parents or guardians.  “In far too many instances parents directly enable their children’s underage drinking,” said Acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H., a rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service in June 2008. “Proper parental guidance alone may not be the complete solution to this devastating public health problem but it is a critical part,” Dr. Galson stated.

Read the rest of the article HERE

To learn more about preventing underage drinking in Maine, visit www.maineparents.net
 
If you are a local business and would like FREE educational workshops about preventing underage drinking and substance abuse held for your staff during work/lunch hours (food provided), please contact portlandprevention@yahoo.com or call (207) 874-8965.