What is a prescription drug?

A prescription drug is a licensed medicine that is regulated by legislation to require a prescription before it can be obtained. The term is used to distinguish it from over-the-counter which are medicinal drugs that can be obtained without a prescription.

Dispensation of prescription drugs often includes a package insert or a patient information leaflet that gives detailed information about the drug.

What is the difference between prescription drugs and other drugs bought freely in the pharmacy (over-the-counter drugs)?

As a general rule, over the counter drugs are used to treat conditions not necessarily requiring care from a health care professional and have been proven to meet higher safety standards for self-medication by patients. Often a lower strength of a drug will be approved for over the counter use, while higher strengths require a prescription to be obtained

Who authorises prescription drugs?

It is generally required that a patient visits a medical practitioner (doctor) or other health care professional who writes the prescription.

Who regulates the safety of prescription drugs in Kenya?

In Kenya, the Ministry of Health is charged with facilitating rational use of drugs through sound prescribing, good dispensing practices, and appropriate usage, under the National Drug Policy.

Why is the abuse of prescription drugs in society on the rise?

• Research shows that prescription pills have become popular among young adults because they are easy to get.

• Prescription drugs represent a more socially acceptable way of getting high than taking street drugs.

• The expiration date, required in several countries, specifies the date the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of a drug, this guarantees the user a certain effect upon use

• Results show that about 90% of all legal drugs are safe and effective as far as 15 years past their expiration date and thus when disposed after the given expiration dates, they can easily be sold to the public for non-medical use.

Who are the most common abusers of prescription drugs?

The elderly are among those most vulnerable to prescription drug abuse or misuse because they are prescribed more medications than their younger counterparts. However, many young adults have started abusing prescription drugs to get high.

What are some of the commonly abused prescription drugs?

I. Opioids and pain killers

What are opioids?

 Opioids are commonly prescribed because of their effective pain-relieving, properties

 Medications that fall within this class-referred to as prescription narcotics-include morphine (e.g., Kadian, Avinza), codeine, oxycodone (e.g., OxyContin, Percodan, Percocet), and related drugs.

How do opioids affect my brain and body?

 Opioids act on your brain and body by attaching to specific proteins called opioid receptors, which are found in the brain, spinal cord, and gastrointestinal tract.

 When these drugs attach to certain opioid receptors, they can block the perception of pain.

 Opioids can make your drowsy, produce nausea, and constipation.

 Depending upon the amount of drug taken opioids can depress your respiration.

 Opioid drugs also can induce euphoria by affecting the brain regions that mediate what we perceive as pleasure.

What happens to me when I am using opioids?

 Taken as directed, opioids can be used to manage pain effectively.

 The properly managed, short-term medical use of opioid drugs  does not lead you to addiction

What will happen to me if I am abusing opioids?

 Long-term use of opioids leads yor to physical dependence and addiction.

 If you take a large single dose of an opioid you risk suffering severe respiratory depression that can lead to death.

II. Central Nervous System (CNS)depressants (sedatives and tranquilisers)

What are CNS depressants?

 CNS depressants, sometimes referred to as sedatives and tranquilizers, are substances that can slow normal brain function. Because of this property, some CNS depressants are useful in the treatment of anxiety and sleep disorders.

 Among the medications that are commonly prescribed for these purposes are the following:

o Barbiturates, such as mephobarbital (Mebaral) and pentobarbital sodium (Nembutal), are used to treat anxiety, tension, and sleep disorders.

o Benzodiazepines, such as diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide HCl (Librium), and alprazolam (Xanax), are prescribed to treat anxiety, acute stress reactions, and panic attacks. The more sedating benzodiazepines, such as triazolam (Halcion) and estazolam (ProSom) are prescribed for short-term treatment of sleep disorders. Usually, benzodiazepines are not prescribed for long-term use.

How do CNS depressants affect my brain and body?

 Most depressants act on your brain by decreasing your brain activity.

 CNS depressants make you drowsy or produce in you a calming effect that is beneficial to you if you suffering from anxiety or sleep disorders.

What happens to me when I use CNS depressants?

 During the first few days of taking a prescribed CNS depressant, you usually feel sleepy and uncoordinated.

 Your brain activity is reduced

What happens to me if I am abusing CNS depressants?

 If you use these drugs long term, your body develops tolerance for the drugs, and larger doses are needed to achieve the same initial effects.

 If you continue to use you end up physically dependent on them and - when you reduce or stop using you experience withdrawal.

 When you stop taking them, your brain’s activity can rebound and race out of control, potentially leading to seizures and other harmful consequences.

 When withdrawing from prolonged use you may suffer serious life-threatening complications.

III. Stimulants

What are stimulants?

 As the name suggests, stimulants increase alertness, attention, and energy, as well as elevate blood pressure and increase heart rate and respiration.

 Stimulants historically were used to treat asthma and other respiratory problems, obesity, neurological disorders, and a variety of other ailments.

 As their potential for abuse and addiction became apparent, the medical use of stimulants began to wane.

 Now, stimulants are prescribed for the treatment of only a few health conditions, including narcolepsy, ADHD, and depression that has not responded to other treatments.

How do stimulants affect my brain and body?

 Stimulants increase your blood pressure and heart rate

 Constrict your blood vessels

 Increase blood glucose

 Open up the pathways of your respiratory system

 They may also induce in you a sense of euphoria

What happens to me when I abuse a stimulant?

 As with other drugs of abuse, you risk becoming dependent upon or addicted to stimulants.

 By repeatedly use of some stimulants over a short period may induce in you feelings of hostility or paranoia.

 When you take high doses of a stimulant you risk exposing yourself to dangerously high body temperature and an irregular heartbeat.

 When using stimulants you risk suffering cardiovascular failure or lethal seizures.

IV. Corticosteroids

What are corticosteroids?

 Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex. Corticosteroids are involved in a wide range of physiologic systems such as stress response, immune response and regulation of inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism, protein catabolism, blood electrolyte levels, and behaviour.

 Synthetic corticosteroids are used commonly for smoothening the skin and lightening skin colour.

 They are also used to treat eye diseases or inflammatory bowel disease and used along with other drugs to prevent nausea.

How do corticosteroids affect my body?

 Corticosteroids control how carbohydrate, fat and protein are metabolised in your body

 They also promote sodium retention in your kidney.

What happens to me when I abuse corticosteroid?

 When you abuse corticosteroids you risk suffering permanent skin damage

 It many also cause your skin to thin and cause you acne

 The typical side effects you may experience include hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure),hypokalemia, (low potassium levels in the blood), and hypernatremia (high sodium levels in the blood)

 Experimental evidence indicates that corticosteroids can also cause you permanent eye damage

V. Sexual stimulants and sex enhancing drugs

What are sexual stimulants and sex enhancing drugs?

 These are “pills”, drinks, or ointments that are commonly offered over the internet and in various drug outlets for various sex oriented purposes including:

• Erectile dysfunction

• Female sexual dysfunction

• Penis enlargement

• Improve sexual performance

• female breast enlargement

• increase libido among other reasons

 examples of these drugs include:

• Viagra

• Cialis

• Levitra

• Enzoy

How do sexual stimulants and sex enhancing drugs affect my body?

 These drugs may increase testosterone levels in your body and could be effective should your problem be due to hormonal deficiency.

 Your body could be exposed to harmful contaminants that some of these drugs contain. Some of the substances you could be exposing your self to include mold, yeast, dangerous bacteria, pesticides, and lead.

 You risk consuming some unappealing substances such as fecal matter that contaminate some of the herbal pills, possibly from animals grazing near the plants harvested for herbal ingredients.

 Some of these drugs do not have any real effect on your body and you may only be experiencing a placebo effect when using them, i.e. psychological effect making you think you can perform better increasing your confidence, when there is no actual physical or physiological change.

What happens to me when I abuse sexual stimulants and sexual enhancing drugs?

 If you are abusing these drugs you risk suffering adverse and serious side effects such as:  severe hypotension or stroke

 For men the penis may remain erect and fail to return to its flaccid state which can be a very painful experience.

 You risk getting skin irritations in case you are using lubricants i.e. itching, burning sensation, rashes

 You may also experience some of the following common side effects:

• Sneezing and headache

• flushing – change of skin colour (usually reddening if you have light skin)

• Dyspepsia (indigestion with chronic or recurrent pain in your upper abdomen, upper abdominal fullness and you may feel full earlier than expected when eating)

• Palpitations (abnormal awareness of your heartbeat)

 Photophobia – you may experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure even under normal lighting conditions. Due to this you may impair your vision or go completely blind.

 You could also go deaf.

 If you are using herbal sexual stimulants you could suffer from various stomach problems including worms since some of these drugs are contaminated.

How can I identify a person who is abusing prescription drugs?

• It is difficult for you to identify a person abusing prescription medication since they do not have the more common physical indicators of most other abused drugs such as bleary-eyes or slurring words, they actually seem to have a lot to live for.

• These in most cases the abuser appears normal to you mostly due to the social acceptability of the drugs you see them using, they blend in well in society and only in extreme cases will you notice any abnormal tendencies such as sudden bouts of deep sleep.

• You will only realise a person has been abusing a prescription drug after they are hospitalised due to an overdose.