Cold Medication Abuse

Over the past several years, drug counselors around the country have noticed a significant hike in the abuse of the cough suppressant dextromethorphan (DXM). There's a thriving subculture on the Internet that offers advice on which cough suppressants produce the best high and how to take them. Some even contain instructions on how to extract the DXM from the cough syrup. But because it's a legal drug, it's not tracked by any of the major groups that follow teen drug use. So it's difficult to gauge how just how widespread the problem is. And because it's been around for decades, some experts worry that the levels of abuse may be exaggerated by the media, only tipping off more kids to a new legal high.

What little is known about the increasing levels of abuse of DXM has already prompted some adults to take action. Legislation has been introduced in many states that would restrict the sale of products with DXM to minors. Parent groups have called on pharmacies to keep some cold meds, including Robitussin and Coricidin behind the counter, and some local stores have complied. The trade group that represents the manufacturers of the over-the-counter drugs, the Consumer Health Care Products Association, has started an educational campaign, sending out thousands of brochures that warn parents and educators about the dangers of having too many cold medications stocked in the medicine cabinet. It's also working in conjunction with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, which is now conducting its first study to gauge the prevalence of cold medication abuse.

Dextromethorphan is a cough-suppressing ingredient in a variety of OTC cold and cough medications. Many of the brand named cold medications are among those that can be abused. A teenager looking to get high or experiment with drugs may turn to OTC cough and cold preparations that contain dextromethorphan because they are readily available at home or the local drug store. Dextromethorphan can also be purchased in a bulk powder form on the Internet. Depending on the dose, the cold medications containing DXM's effects vary. Misuse of the drug creates both depressant and mild hallucinogenic effects. Users report a set of distinct dose-dependent "plateaus" ranging from a mild stimulant effect with distorted visual perceptions at low does to a sense of complete dissociation from one's body.

If an individual consumes large doses of a cold medication containing dextromethorphan, it may cause a number of adverse effects, including impaired judgment and mental performance, loss of coordination, dizziness, nausea, hot flashes, dissociation, and hallucinations. Parents should be concerned if they notice that their child taking excessive amounts of a cold and flu remedy, or if he or she continues to take medicine even after symptoms have subsided. Likewise, if cough and cold medications seem to disappear from the medicine cabinet or if you find packages of cough and cold medications in the child's room or backpack, he or she may be abusing the product. Cold medications containing DXM produce very, very severe nausea prior to the opiate like high, so there's a natural barrier against extended use in large segments of the population. Downing a bottle of cough syrup may be rough on the stomach, but kids have learned that popping a handful of cold medication such as Coricidin tablets is far less disruptive to the digestive tract. And it's the abuse of the so-called Triple-C's that appears to be on the rise.

The abuse of cold medication abuse has the potential to become an epidemic, and it is extremely dangerous. Teens do not know exactly what type of cold medications to take; and they could quickly overdose through experimentation. "We need to build awareness among kids of the potential harm that taking extreme amounts of these products can cause," says Virginia Cox of the Consumer Health Care Products Association in Washington. Until that awareness has reached every household in America, parents must remain on high alert, for the signs of cold medication abuse. The best thing a parent can do to help a teen who is abusing cold medications is to give them the gift of drug treatment.

Drug addiction can rear its ugly head on the shelves at the corner pharmacy. That’s the threat of CCC, and the numbers of reported cases are rapidly on the rise. CCC is the new Robitussin. Otherwise known as Triple C’s or Cordies, the over-the-counter medication Coricidin HBP Cough & Cold contains the drug dextromethorphan, or DXM. This medication is being abused, primarily by teens and even pre-teens, because DXM can produce a type of high when taken in amounts that greatly exceed the recommended dosage.

In these large doses, DXM is known to produce hallucinations and a sense of detachment from reality. Normally, this medication is used to legitimately treat the symptoms of severe coughs, colds and upper respiratory allergies.

Slang Terms for Cold Medication Abuse

How can a parent know if their child is engaging in cough medicine abuse? Other than the obvious behavioral differences that any parent would normally observe, they should understand the slang terms associated with DXM abuse.

If you hear your child use any of the following terms, it is probably time to have a talk at the very least:  Orange crush, Red Devils, Skittles, dex, Vitamin D. Also have your ear to the ground for terms like Robo, Robo-tripping and Robo-dosing, which originated from Robitussin DAC, another product long associated with cold medicine abuse.

Another word that should raise red flags is sizzurp, aka purple drank or lean. While there is no exact definition of what constitutes sizzurp, it is commonly a mixture of prescription or over-the-counter cough medicines like Coricidin or Robitussin DAC and flavored soda.

Overdoses of Cough Syrup

In some cases, these medicines are mixed with alcohol as well, creating a very dangerous, toxic cocktail. There have been several popular hip-hop songs which have glamorized the use of sizzurp, and many of the artists who created these songs have paid the ultimate price for their cold medicine abuse. Artists named DJ Screw, Big Moe and Pimp C have all died as a result of drinking alcohol and cough medicine cocktails, and rapper Lil Wayne was recently hospitalized for a seizure believed to be the result of his widely publicized addiction to sizzurp.

These were grown men, all weighing well over 150 pounds. If they died from abusing a cough medicine cocktail, imagine the potential effect on a developing teenager.

Teenage Drug Abuse

Even on their own, these cough medicines can lead to addiction, and many teenagers in drug treatment centers are there specifically for cough medicine addiction treatment. To be fair, Coricidin HBP and similar products have been proven to be safe and effective when used at their recommended doses – about 10 to 30 milligrams every six hours. However, abusers will generally ingest several times the recommended dose, which can produce hallucinations and effects similar to those experienced with phencyclidine (PCP).

One of the primary difficulties in combating this problem is the availability of obtaining Cordies. They are not illegal, nor are they age-restricted. And they are relatively inexpensive, although many teenagers end up shoplifting Coricidin anyway.

“It’s not illegal to purchase. It’s not even illegal to take in large quantities. It’s just dangerous and foolish and that is what is scaring everybody,” Dr. Charles Nozicka, director of pediatric emergency medicine at St. Alexius Medical Center in Illinois, told the Chicago Tribune. Indeed, poison control centers in New York are now listing instructions on what to do in the event of Triple C overdoses, and a Cincinnati, Ohio Poison Control Center reports that 71% of to Coricidin calls were classified as abuse. A 2004 article by the New York Times catalogued over 2,500 calls to poison control centers nationwide, about DXM abuse; sixty percent of those were between the ages of thirteen and seventeen. That number has now increased to over 4,000, with seventy-five percent attributed to teenage drug abuse.

You see a lot of kids addicted to cold medicine because they don’t have to go on the street to get it.” Kids can buy it or steal it, and it’s legal to possess. There are many obvious signs of cough medicine abuse, including:

Cold Medicine Abuse Treatment

If you notice your teenager exhibiting any of these symptoms, it may be due to cold medicine abuse.If you or a loved one are struggling with cold medicine abuse, addiction to synthetic marijuana or any other drug, or know someone else who is, get help today. If you are fighting urges to use, even if you believe the problem is under control, call us right now at 1-888-563-5213. Our helpline representatives can answer your questions and provide you with tips for immediate treatment options at the appropriate recovery center in your area.