Is Caffeine Dangerous For Kids And Teenagers? - Superior Physical ...

Is Caffeine Dangerous For Kids And Teenagers? Simi Valley Chiropractor

Is Caffeine Dangerous For Kids And Teenagers? ?Those energy drinks teens are guzzling are probably not as safe as you think ? for many reasons. ?Here is why?

It?s a very common thing to have teenagers dip their toes into adulthood by experimenting with recreational alcohol and majijuana. But there are many other common ways teenagers can get into drugs, and they are widely available to everyone, both legally and behind your back.

Caffeine Overload

With the rise in popularity of energy drinks, they can be purchased just about anywhere, from a convenience store to a fast food chair. These drinks are super loaded with caffeine and other stimulant components. They are becoming the ?gateway? for kids to get into even harsher combinations, like alcohol mixed with caffeine.

My Health News Daily states:

In recent years, drinks that combine alcohol with caffeine, such as Four Loko, have been blamed for the deaths of teens and college students. But a new epidemic involves younger children: elementary school students are drinking highly caffeinated energy drinks to catch a buzz. Even without alcohol, these drinks are dangerous to kids? health.

?Energy drinks are gateway for elementary school kids,? said Mike Gimbel, a national substance abuse educator. ?They drink it like it?s water. Nurses have kids coming in with heart palpitations.?

Gimbel said he has also observed a growing fascination among elementary school students with caffeinated gel strips that you place on the tongue, such as ones made by the brand Sheets.

?One strip is equal to a cup of coffee, but kids are putting five or six in their mouth at once,? he said. ?You can overdose on caffeine by taking three or four.?

Overconsumption of caffeine, especially in young children who have smaller bodies, can cause seizures, strokes or even sudden death, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Inhalants

The article goes on to describe a dangerous practice called ?huffing? which is the inhaling of everyday household products to get a buzz. One particularly dangerous product is called ?Dust-Off? which is a computer cleaner:

Dust-Off, sold at office supply stores, can be inhaled to produce a high lasting a few seconds to a few minutes.

?One of the attractions is that it can be felt almost immediately,? said Harvey Weiss, executive director of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition. ?You don?t have to wait for something to happen.?

Inhalants can cause serious damage, including ?nausea, nosebleeds, impaired coordination and, in some cases, death.?

Pharm Parties

It?s not just kids taking swigs of their parents alcohol or bringing booze bottles from home to a party. Nowadays, teens are swiping their parent?s prescription medications and sharing them with fellow kids to get high. ?Pharm Parties? are prescription pill parties where dangerously addictive drugs are brought to be shared:

Teens are taking painkillers, mainly highly addictive opioids such as OxyContin and Vicodin, from medicine cabinets in their own homes, said Dr. Petros Levounis, director of the Addiction Institute of New York in Manhattan.

?They?re getting these prescription pills from parents or grandparents,? Levounis said. ?Say I go to the dentist for a tooth extraction and I get 30 painkillers and maybe take one. My granddaughter could go into my medicine cabinet without me knowing and bring the rest of the pills to a party.?

A recent report from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that each year, more people die from prescription painkiller overdoses than from heroin and cocaine overdoses combined.

?Addiction to prescription opioids has become the most important problem we face,? Levounis said.

These three dangers that are very real for kids exist all too commonly today. The best defense if talk to your teenager about these substances to prevent them even experimenting in the first place.

One important question to ask is why are so many kids (and adults) constantly altering the natural?chemistry?of their body in an attempt to feel better? more awake? less pain? or whatever?

Why does the?average?person (including children) need to function in a chemically altered state from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed?

Source: http://www.gladback.com/is-caffeine-dangerous-for-kids-and-teenagers-simi-valley-chiropractor/

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