A teen may take his or her first drink at as young as 12 years of age. The main causes of teen drinking are peer pressure, little communication between a teen and parent, and not enough supervision by a parent. Problems within a family, including too severe discipline, or inconsistency in discipline can also contribute to teen drinking.
Family history also plays a part in teen drinking. If a family member has a problem with alcohol or drug abuse, then the risk that a teen will start drinking is increased. Sometimes, that first drink is all that is needed to start the cycle of teen alcohol abuse. This is especially serious because a teenager’s body is still growing and undergoing changes.
Alcohol abuse by teenagers can affect the body in a number of ways. Memory is affected, causing teens to not only forget what they have learned, but to have problems retaining new information and skills. The risk of suffering from depression is increased, particularly in teenage girls.
The teen’s body must metabolize the alcohol in the same way as for an adult; however, because a teen has not yet reached adulthood, the effects on internal organs may be more severe. Lower body weight and mass may also increase the risk of a teen suffering from alcohol poisoning.
And, then there are the dangers associated with teenage drinking. These include, but are certainly not limited to, being seriously injured or killed in an automobile accident that occurred as a result of drinking and driving as well as the consequences suffered from poor judgment and decision-making.
Drinking can lead a teenage girl to engage in indiscriminate sex, often without giving any thought to protection. This in turn can lead to teen pregnancy, which brings its own set of complications. Women who drink during pregnancy run the risk of giving birth to a child who is suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome-a condition that can cause both physical and mental defects.
Unprotected sex also leads to the possibility of the girl contracting a sexual transmitted infection (STI) or a sexually transmitted disease (STD). And, some of these, such as HIV, AIDS, and Hepatitis C, can truly be considered “real killers”.
No state is immune from the problem of teenage drinking. This includes Nevada; however, alcohol addiction in Nevada is being addressed through the available of treatment centers.
Many of these centers offer all-inclusive treatment. It begins with the detoxification process, a very unpleasant but altogether necessary step. Some centers, however, do give prescription medication which will decrease the length of time and the severity of the withdrawal period. Some discomfort will still be felt, but the recovering teen may find it easier to face with the medical intervention. When withdrawal is drug assisted, the ten usually enters an in-patient facility.
From there, centers then focus on helping the teen recover his or her life without alcohol through group counseling and continued support programs. The teen years can be trying but happy ones. However, alcohol addiction has no place in them. If your teenager is suffering from alcohol addiction, please call us at 1-800-559-9503 or visit our website at http://www.alcoholaddiction.org/. We want to help you and your teen enjoy life to its fullest.
