Cough Medicine Abuse

Dextromethorphan (DXM) is a substance found in more than 100 over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicines. And now more and more students are taking it for recreational purposes, potentially causing serious damage to their bodies and brains.

Some combine it with alcohol. Others take it in high doses, often ingesting the high doses of decongestant, acetaminophen and antihistamine that are contained in many DXM OTC medications too, thus increasing the drug’s dangerous side effects. High doses of DXM can suppress the central nervous system and induce a disassociative, hallucinatory state.

Other common effects of DXM abuse can include:

• confusion
• dizziness
• double or blurred vision
• slurred speech
• impaired physical coordination
• abdominal pain
• nausea and vomiting
• rapid heart beat
• drowsiness
• numbness of fingers and toes
• disorientation

Students often refer to DXM in slang terms, calling it Tussin, Skittles, Robo, Dex, Triple-C or Syrup. Abusing the substance is often called Robo-tripping or Skittling.

And they’re learning how to abuse the substance through the Internet. Certain sites tell them how much DXM to take, how to extract it from cough medicine, and how to combine DXM with other drugs. Plus, a powder form of DXM (for snorting) is also being sold online.

DXM may be the only active ingredient in an OTC medicine or it may be combined with other active ingredients. Just look in the “active ingredient” section of a package’s Drug Facts label. According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, common products that contain DXM, besides some store brands, include:

• Dayquil LiquiCaps
• Dimetapp DM
• Robitussin (cough products)
• Sudafed (cough products)
• Tylenol Cold products
• Vicks NyQuil LiquiCaps

To learn more, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America offers a free “Preventing Teen Cough Medicine Abuse” brochure for download in both English and Spanish at http://www.drugfree.org/Parent/Resources/Cough_Medicine_Abuse.

Sources: “Make Up Your Own Mind About Cough Medicine” at www.dmxstories.com; The Partnership for a Drug-Free America at www.drugfree.org

Prevention Tips for Parents

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America offers several suggestions about what concerned parents can do to prevent cough medicine abuse.

• Educate yourself and share the information.
• Know the signs of cough medicine abuse—such as finding empty bottles and discovering Internet visits to pro-drug websites—as well as the signs of overall drug abuse including changes in friends, physical appearance, eating and sleeping patterns; hostile and uncooperative attitude; loss of interest in hobbies/activities; unexplained disappearance of household money; declining grades, and more.
• Inventory medications and pay attention to quantities.
• Keep medications hidden so they’re not easily accessible to anyone.
• Communicate clearly with students that abusing OTC meds is dangerous and that all medicines need to be respected and used only according to directions.

Source: “Preventing Teen Cough Medicine Abuse: A Parent’s Guide” at http://www.drugfree.org/Files/Preventing_Teen_Cough_Medicine_Abuse/

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