• Food
  • Family Life
    • Books
    • Lifestyle
    • Motherhood
    • Parenting
    • Time Management
    • Travel
    • Shopping
  • House & Home
    • Home Decor
    • DIY
    • Crafts
    • Cleaning
    • Organizing
  • Kids Activities
  • Photography
  • Social Media
    • Resources for Blogging
    • Twitter Parties
    • Work At Home
  • Giveaways

5 Minutes for Mom

  • Home
  • Topics
    • Family Life
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Food
    • Giveaways
    • Health and Fitness
    • Kids Activities & Education
    • Photography
    • Travel
    • Work At Home
    • Videos
    • Archives
  • Trending
    • Activities for Preschoolers
    • Exercise Tips
    • How to Blog
    • Organizing Tips & Resources
    • PicMonkey Tutorials & Tips
    • Pinterest Tips
    • Rice Krispies Treats
    • Stop Bullying
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Contact

1 in 10 teenagers has abused cough medicine.
5 Moms are trying to change that…

12/03/08 | By Susan

ShareTweetPinPlusStumble

Did you know that 1 in 10 teenagers has abused cough medicine? Does that sound ridiculous? It did to me…

But overdosing on cough medicine is happening everywhere… Is your child one of the 2.4 million who has tried it?

“Cough medicine abuse involves taking an extreme amount of cough medicine–bottle after bottle or pills after pills–to get high. The “high” is caused by dextromethorphan (DXM), a common ingredient found in many cough medicines. DXM is a safe and effective ingredient when taken in the correct doses. When abused in large quantities, however, it can produce a number of dangerous side effects.”
Five Moms

“Shedding light on the issue is what the Five Moms campaign is all about. Five Moms is group of parents who are talking about cough medicine abuse. Fivemoms.com provides information about DXM abuse; a guide to talking with your kids about the problem; information on how to recognize the signs of abuse; and, most importantly, tools for telling other parents about the risks.”

Janice talked to Hilda from Five Moms and Mimi from CHPA about how the Five Moms is taking action to help make moms aware of this devastating problem.


Spreading the Word about Cough Medicine Abuse from 5 Minutes for Mom on Vimeo.

The 5 Moms are helping parents realize that sometimes when teens appear to be online doing their homework they may be using the Internet to read or post instructions or stories about their latest DXM “trips”.

If you have a teenager, you MUST visit Fivemoms.com and find out what you need to know.

ShareTweetPinPlusStumble

About Susan

Susan Carraretto and her identical twin, Janice Croze, created 5 Minutes for Mom in 2006. Susan loves all social media, but her top addiction these days is Pinterest.

« Wordless Wednesday
Do you want to write for us? »

Comments

  1. casual friday everyday says

    December 5, 2008 at 8:09 pm

    I can’t say that I’m surprised. Not much surprised me when it comes to teens but it does give me a bit of a scare thinking about what my boys will face in their teens. I better keep on top of things when they are pre-teens because I need to know what I’m facing as a parent.

    Nell

  2. Karen Luedy says

    December 4, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    This problem is so out of control……my son is 21 and he has been clean now for 4 years….he had a problem with drugs, I got him in rehab and he turned to cold and cough medicine that did not show up in drug tests (that’s why you need a driver’s license to buy comtrex)…When he couldn’t find medicine to get high on, he was huffing (spraying cans into a freezer bag and inhaling)….I am an ICU/ER nurse and I was trying everything in my power…..he OD on tylenol when he got desparate and wanted to die, which is very toxic as tylenol kills the liver, he actually ended up in my ICU for 5 days. A big thing that kids try to get high on is the spray to clean the keyboard, and this instantly kills them as it “freezes” the lungs. Also, please watch out for “wet” pot dipped in embalming fluid. I have seen the results first had, where teens end up unable to feed or toilet themselves ever again from using “wet” just one time. Kids now a days have no idea of the danger and permanent damage they are causing themselves. I ended up having to go the tough love route after rehab failed twice…I had him locked up in the juvenile system for 1 year and did not see him…..When he got out he was a new person. It was hard, and the stories he told me make me cry, but he is alive, working, happy, and is the best father to his 17 month old son. I am so proud of him!!! And so thankful I didn’t lose him (he tried suicide several times including a hanging in my basement). It was a very difficult road as I am a divorced mom of 4 with no help from the father…. Anyone who needs help Catholic Charities provide the financial help and mental support I needed to deal with all of this. They saved my son’s life!!

  3. Jamaise says

    December 3, 2008 at 9:31 pm

    I had no idea. I have a teen, & I’ve never heard of it. I will open the topic with my son & see what he knows about it. Thanks for the post.

  4. Susan says

    December 3, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    Rona, good point… what are we going to do about it?

    I think that the 5 Moms are trying to first create awareness b/c so many parents don’t even know the problem exists. And if they don’t know, they really can’t do anything about it.

    To be honest, I personally get very overwhelmed at the thought of “What can we do to stop it?”… And I definitely need to turn to people like you who have teens and to other experts in the area.

    It would be fantastic if we could add some links here to resources for taking action!

    Here are a few links I came across when I was researching for this post:
    http://www.dxmstories.com

    http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/

    http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/cough_cold_medicine_abuse.html

    Okay Ladies… who knows of some additional resources for help.

  5. Queen-sized funny bone says

    December 3, 2008 at 10:41 am

    My nephew was having a problem with Nyquil and my sister had to get a handle on what was going on in her house.

  6. Rona says

    December 3, 2008 at 9:16 am

    After reading this post I wasn’t surprised. Yes, teens are abusing cough medicine. Now, what do we want to do about it?

    Mom of a 16 year old son

Trackbacks

  1. Five Moms (and a few mommy bloggers) on Capitol Hill says:
    November 9, 2009 at 1:57 pm

    […] as I told you in a post a few weeks ago, two years ago, I was honored to interview Hilda from Five Moms and Mimi from CHPA about how the Five Moms is taking action to help make moms aware […]

  2. Have You Talked to Your Kids About Over-the-Counter (OTC) Drug Abuse? says:
    October 19, 2009 at 10:01 am

    […] it from happening, and encourage parents to safeguard their medicine cabinets. Two years ago, I was honored to interview Hilda from Five Moms and Mimi from CHPA about how the Five Moms is taking action to help make moms aware […]

Connect With Us

Welcome to 5 Minutes for Mom.

We are Janice and Susan, twin bloggers and work-at-home moms. Along with our team of writers, we're here to inspire, encourage & empower you. Read More…

How to start a blog

Twitter-Parties-Everything-You-Need-to-Know 300

We Love Likes

Pin with Us


 

Pinterest is Our FAVORITE!

Find and Follow Us at
pinterest.com/5minutesformom

Categories

Archives

Recent Posts

  • Is Your Pet Bored with their Pet Food?
  • Spring Gardening Tips – 5 Ways To Get Your Garden Ready For Spring
  • Around the Blogosphere – Add YOUR Giveaway Link #Giveaways
  • Grilled Chicken Wrap with Spinach, Strawberries and Walnuts
  • Easy Handmade Journals and Scrapbooks You Can Make with Your Kids

Categories

Disclosure Policy    |     Terms & Conditions
© 5 Minutes for Mom
5 Minutes for Mom is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Pinterest is Our FAVORITE!

Find and Follow Us at
pinterest.com/5minutesformom

Connect With Us

Copyright © 2018 · Tasteful theme by Restored 316