Science Lesson No. 6

It’s been reported that the number one access teens have to drugs is the medicine cabinet. That’s where Ella Davis found Faye’s prescription for muscle relaxants.

In The Blow-up Man, the thirteen-year-old Ella is distraught. She’s suffered humiliation and degradation at her mother’s hand one time too many. Her mother has called her a filthy slut, told her that she’s not deserving of a mother’s love, and has been told by her mother that she wished the girl had never been born…that she is a waste. At Christmas, Ella steals Faye’s pills and takes an overdose a few days later. In the book, it’s not clear whether its Ella’s intention to use the pills in order to curb the hurt she feels or to commit suicide. But a few days later, she lands up in the emergency room with an overdose.

In the real world, nearly half of all emergency room visits for prescription drug abuse are by young people 12-20 (http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/prescription/abuse-international-statistics.html). What can you do to protect your teen?

Talk to them and discuss the dangers of these drugs. Some teens think they are safer than street drugs—NOT.
Be alert to the possible signs of abuse. It could be something like excessive sleep, sleeplessness, or slurred speech.
Lock up your medications.
Properly dispose of the medications you no longer use or are expired. If you’re not sure how, ask your local pharmacist.

Bye for now, Nina B.