HIV, AIDS And Teen Drug Use

Teenagers who abuse drugs have most likely started with alcohol and marijuana. These two substances open the gateway into more dangerous drugs that kill thousands of people each year. One of the most shocking statistics is thousands or teens are acquiring HIV by sharing needles. HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus which later turns into AIDS. AIDS has no cure, but there are some treatment options which can be expensive and time consuming. This can be the worst news a teen can hear when they find out they contracted the virus. AIDS is a virus that can be spread by sharing blood of someone who is already infected with the disease.

If you are a parent and you believe your teen is abusing any type of drug, let them know that besides the dangers of addiction, they can also catch and become infected with diseases. HIV isn't a disease you can look at someone and know they have it. A misconception among drug abusers is the fact that you can still become infected with HIV by using other drugs that don't require needles. An example of this may be someone who is drunk and has sexual intercourse with someone infected with HIV. Most highly intoxicated people make poor decisions and will not think clearly.

According to drugabuse.gov, around 50,000 teenagers became infected with HIV and AIDS in 2007. The majority of these are young males, but more and more teenage girls are coming in contact with the disease. The problem with teens and catching HIV is the fact that teens are young and want to experiment with new drugs and new sexual experiences. This puts them more at-risk from not only catching HIV but STD's and hepatitis. The best thing we can do as a community is educate our young children and teens about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Sit down with your teenagers and share with them the risks of doing drugs and participating in sexual practices. AIDS and HIV are easily avoided if teens would think clearly and understand how dangerous the disease really is.

If you think your teen is abusing drugs, purchase a home drug test or take them to a clinic. Most parents don't see the signs early enough and their teenage son or daughter goes down the wrong path at an early age. There are many different drug treatment centers that can help your addicted teen. Call us today and we can walk you through this process.