Heroin Use Soaring Suburban Teens Most At Risk
A new trend is happening with teens concerning drug use; and it’s not underage drinking, marijuana or synthetic drug use. The drug of choice for teens has just become heroin. And the number of teens using the drug is shocking.
Many might think that heroin is a drug only taken by the homeless or those from inner cities or that “grew up poor.” Heroin use, however, is affecting middle-class suburban teens all over American with the result being devastation for users and families alike.
If you are a parent, you should be concerned. The drug is popping up in schools and throughout social media conversations and across America. This article will give you the tools you need to determine if you need has been exposed to this problem. It will also give you directions on what do to if your child is using the drug.
How Do I Know If My Teen Is Using Heroin?
The first thing as a parent that you want to know is how to determine if there is a problem happening with your teenager. There are specific characteristics will start showing up which include:
1. Your teen will experience dryness of mouth.
2. Their pupils will be noticeably smaller or constricted.
3. There will be behavioral changes in the teen’s mood.
4. The individual will be breathing heavily, like he or she seems to be out of breath
5. He or she maybe forgetting where they were or have spotty memory while high on the drug.
6. They will have kind of a drooping appearance.
There are certain telltale signs that you will start noticing. The first might be the appearance of your teen certain changes in your teens face such as dark circles under the eyes like they haven’t been sleeping for long periods of time. Another might be the teen's overall posture. If they start to slump over instead of having a good posture and suddenly they seem to be weak or have been losing a lot of weight in a short period of time but not from exercising. Your teen might also start wearing more clothes that hide and cover up the marks that might be a source of where they are injecting. This includes wearing long sleeves in the summer months, during hot weather to cover up IV use.
Also, you notice that teens will become a little more anti-social than usual always wanting to spend time by themselves. When they are out of the home and you might ask, “where have you been” and they get very defensive and start lying about where they’ve been. These are all signs of where to start when looking to see if your teen is a heroin user.
What To Do With A Teen Who Has A Heroin Problem
The first thing to do is to find out for sure that your teen is using heroin. Drug testing could also be used to determine if there is a problem. Then review the signs above and also look for paraphernalia like:
- Bags of light brown powder
- Needles
- Spoons
- Razor blades and straws or rolled up dollar bills that indicate that the teen is snorting the drug.
- Belts or straps to tighten the arm for IV use.
As heroin hits the suburbs, data shows that an alarming number of teens are using it. Your teen could be among the 3% of teens who end up using heroin and get hooked on this terrible drug.
For more information on what you can do about heroin abuse visit https://www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/heroin/
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