Good Samaritans At Risk

Sometimes a news story just grabs you. Like today on Yahoo News there was this headline: " 'Grieving' Dog Refused to Leave Dead Dog's Side." Who wouldn't read that headline? It would seem the male pit bull wanted to make sure that someone would come along and care for his wounded/deceased friend. Heartbreaking to be sure. Eventually, albeit 14 + hours later, officials did come to remove his friend and to take him to a shelter. What can we learn from this story? How can we use this story to promote passage of California's SB472?

On February 15, 2011, California Assembly Member Tom Ammiano introduced AB472 to add Section 11376.5 to the California Health and Safety Code, relating to controlled substances:

"This bill would provide that it shall not be a crime for any person who experiences a drug-related overdose, as defined, who, in good faith, seeks medical assistance, or any other person who, in good faith, seeks medical assistance for the person experiencing a drug-related overdose, to be under the influence of, or to possess for personal use, a controlled substance, controlled substance analog, or drug paraphernalia, under certain circumstances related to a drug-related overdose that prompted the seeking of medical assistance if that person does not obstruct medical or law enforcement personnel."

Addiction is a disease and yet many die each year from reversible drug overdoses. In 2008, 36,000 Americans died of drug overdoses (half of these resulted from prescription drugs). We might wonder how many of these deaths could have been prevented if the addict's friends or family members were not afraid of the reprisal of taking them to a hospital.  On May 3, 2012, the Orange County Register ran a story "Thousands Die From Overdoses" which chronicles one family's story and how the outcome resulted in part because the friends were afraid of getting into trouble if they took Joey to the hospital.

Addicts will tell you they don't want to end up as a "drag out," being left on the side of the road to die alone. If your friend went into to insulin shock from the disease of diabetes, you wouldn't hesitate to take them to the ER. The disease of addiction, just like any other disease, requires treatment and compassion.

So, take a few minutes today and watch the FOX news story about the pit bull that stayed with his dying friend, then think about writing your representative to promote a Good Samaritan Law (New York, Illinois and Florida have such laws). California still has not passed AB472.

Recognizing Eating Disorders In College Students

We talked recently about keeping an eye on your college age student returning home for the summer. It is an exciting time for many, coming home after the first year of college. For most it is a time to reconnect with old friends, secure a summertime job, spend more time with family, relax after finals, get back in shape and evaluate their future goals. It is also a time for parents to take a visual inventory of their child. How do they look physically, how are they interacting with family and friends, how much are they sleeping, do they seem to have unexplained mood swings, are they sociable? Parents want to be helpful and hopeful. Naturally, they want to see only good in their child and may overlook symptoms that indicate a mental health problem.

The "usual and customary" parental worries might center on excessive alcohol use, smoking, using pot or even abusing drugs (both legal and illegal). But parents should also be on the lookout for eating disorders. And it is important for parents to realize that eating disorders can affect both young women and young men.

Typically we tend to think eating disorders only affect women. The statistics indicate that one (1) million adolescent males between the ages of 12 - 25 suffer from an eating disorder. Males tend to obsess on muscle mass and fat index. A couple of months ago, NBC's TODAY show featured Dr. Nancy Snyderman's report about understanding, recognizing and getting treatment for young men suffering with eating disorders. You can learn more from her report.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you suspect that your son or daughter may be suffering from an eating disorder, remember:

• This is a psychiatric disorder
• Seek advice from your pediatrician or family physician
• Get professional help
• Don't blame yourself
• Research indicates that up to one-half of individuals with eating disorders abuse alcohol or illicit drugs, compared to nine percent of the general population.
• Eating disorders can require long term treatment and hospital therapy
• Eating disorders, if not recognized and treated, are deadly

Army PTSD Diagnoses To Be Reviewed

                  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) is once again in the news. If there could be good news about PTSD, then this might be it. The ARMY has decided to review the records from all of its medical facilities, dating back to October 2001. They are looking to review all diagnoses of PTSD.  They want to evaluate how many of these diagnoses were "improperly overturned."

According to an article in Bloomberg Business Week,

"The latest reviews were triggered by revelations that the forensic psychiatry unit at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state may have reversed diagnoses based on the expense of providing care and benefits to members of the military."

In 2010 HBO produced a documentary called WARTORN 1861-2010. It was a powerful movie that discussed what we now refer to as PTSD, but in the movie's synopsis it made a point that this syndrome has been referred to in many ways over the last two centuries - "Civil War doctors called it hysteria, melancholia and insanity.  During the First World War it was known as shell-shock.  By World War II, it became combat fatigue. Today, it is clinically known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a crippling anxiety that results from exposure to life-threatening situations such as combat."

Most experts will agree that PTSD can have many side-effects, not the least of which is crippling mental health symptoms including substance abuse, spousal abuse, child abuse and suicidal tendencies. And often, without proper treatment these veterans will die as a result of the lack of treatment and proper follow-up.



In a little over a week, our country will celebrate Memorial Day. This Memorial Day let's make a commitment to honor not only those who passed as a result of war, but those who are still with us. Let's work to promote complete diagnoses and treatment for all who suffer from PTSD.

Related articles

• Army launches review of PTSD diagnoses (heraldonline.com)
• Army reviews post traumatic stress disorder evaluations (wjla.com)
• Military Looks To Redefine PTSD, Without Stigma (npr.org)

College Students Home For The Summer- Watch For Alcoholism Signs

Over the next couple of weeks many college students will be returning home for the summer. This may be the first time a college student is living with their parents since leaving for school in the fall. It is an exciting time, but also a time for adjustments. After all, the student is used to living on their own, coming and going as they please, partying, staying up late, not having to be part of a family dynamic. Now as the returning student stands on the doorstep with bags in hand they face having to be accountable for their actions, their comings and goings, maybe even getting a summer job. But what if a parent sees changes that indicate the student has now turned to alcohol as a way to cope?

The experts continue to study alcoholism. They look for scientific reasons for addiction. As Dr. Mee-Lee of Castle Medical Center in Oahu, HI, says:

"Early life experiences, patterns of drinking in your family, your parents, whatever...it certainly can relate to exposure. If you have more opportunities to drink, your peer group drinks a lot, they will all encourage that. Sometimes, it's genetics.”

So...what should parents do if they see signs of mood changes, over-indulgence, behavior changes? First, pay attention; don't think that alcoholism or substance abuse can't happen in your family. Second, start a conversation. Third, seek advice.

Here you can learn more from Dr. Mee-Lee in this special news report. 



Summer is coming. You can make it a healthy summer.

Related articles

• New Labels Could Make 40% of College Students Alcoholics (healthland.time.com)
• College students hospitalized (wpri.com)

Behind the Orange Curtain and Beyond

Have you ever attended a film festival? Many take place throughout the world. Some are more famous than others. If you are lucky enough to live near where a festival takes place you can enjoy various activities and see inspiring independent films. Such was the case at the 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival. This year one particular film Behind the Orange Curtain played to sold out crowds and chronicled 15 Orange County California families examining the abuse of prescription drugs.

This is Brent Huff's first documentary to play on the big screens. He filmed the entire movie in Orange County communities, like Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, San Clemente and Dana Point. He hoped this film will serve as a way for parents and teachers to start the conversation with their children. And not just with their teen-agers, but their younger children as well. As Mr. Huff said: "It's not like pot where you can smell it, or alcohol where you can see it. It's not cocaine with a runny nose. You can't tell they're high."

When the festival came to a close, Behind the Orange Curtain won the Orange County Filmmaker Award.

While this film features Orange County, California, remember this epidemic is in every community. Take a moment to watch the trailer. If you have an opportunity, see the film and share the message with friends. It might save a life!

Underage Drinkers Successfully Purchase Alcohol Online

Do you ever buy items on-line?  Maybe you order flowers, buy books, buy music, or send a gift to a friend or relative. Did you ever try to buy alcoholic beverages online?  It seems people do buy alcoholic beverages online and a new study shows that underage drinkers (study participants) were able to make a completed purchase in 45% of the purchase attempts.

Keep in mind these types of sites are to offer an age verification feature; however, this study had people ages 18-20 place orders at 100 internet sites that sell alcoholic products. 45 orders were successfully processed and the products were delivered to these underage participants.  It should be noted that the products were shipped via FedEx or United Parcel Service, as the United States Postal Service cannot, by law, ship alcohol products.

Parents might want to preview packages being delivered to their underage children. 

The study was conducted at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Emergency Rooms and Drinking

It is no secret that drinking alcohol can lead people to make poor decisions, choices that can dramatically shape the course of one’s life. Alcohol poisoning, drunk driving, and organ damage are some of the inherent dangers associated with alcohol use. However, in many cases, drinking alcohol can lead to personal physical injuries with people landing up in the emergency room. This may not be a big deal for some people, but, for others who have to pay the medical bills out-of-pocket it can be huge.

A new report showed that up to half of the people who get treated at hospital emergency departments are under the influence of alcohol. In many states, insurance companies will not cover accidents related to alcohol, this fact allows hospitals to capitalize on this and discourage problem drinking in the future.

In many cases hospital workers will not test patients for drugs and alcohol in order to ensure that they will receive payment for services rendered.

Nearly 600 emergency department patients who were identified as problem drinkers (defined for men as drinking more than 14 drinks per week or more than four on any single occasion, and for women as more than seven weekly drinks or three on any one occasion) were interviewed.

“In the emergency department on a weekend, all the cases may be drug or alcohol related, and yet we don’t do” screening and intervention, says Gail D’Onofrio, the study’s lead author who is chair of emergency medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. “Our goal is to normalize this in the emergency department.”

The study was published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine