Central Nervous System Depressent Drugs - Essay Example

When alcohol is combined with CNS drugs the result can be devastating and as people who use CNS depressants often self-medicate with alcohol, the result can be harsh on the body and the system. 2.List and discuss the four types of individuals who abuse CNS depressants. The four types of individuals who abuse CNS depressants are those who are seeking to have sedation for stress relief, those seeking a euphoric response after they have built a tolerance, those seeking to counter the withdrawal affect of another drug they are dependent upon and those who combine their CNS depressants with alcohol or other drugs that are not compatible (Hanson, Venturelli, & Fleckenstein, 2009). 3.Discuss the basic principles in treating dependence on CNS depressants.

In order to treat an individual who is addicted to CNS depressants the patient must first be detoxed in a gentle manner with attention paid to the comfort of the patient. A long acting CNS may be used to substitute for the quicker action drugs in order to ease the patient off of the need for the substance. A long acting drug, such as Phenobarbital or Valium, will assist in detoxing the patient off of a quicker acting drug in order to decrease the need for a ‘hit’ of the offending drug. This helps to wean the patient from the need of the drug to which they are addicted (Hanson, Venturelli, & Fleckenstein, 2009).

Barbiturates and benzodiazepines are both antiepileptic drugs. Benzodiazepines, though, are not suited for long term use although they have a muscle relaxant quality that makes them highly suitable for emergency use for epileptic episodes. Barbiturates can have effects on the respiratory system that can be fatal where it is unlikely that a benzodiazepine drug will have enough of a depressing effect on the respiratory system to cause distress that will lead to death. Where barbiturates have a high level of sedation, benzodiazepine drugs can relieve stress without the same level of sedative effects (Ghodse, 2010). 5.Explain why many alcoholics suffer from malnutrition.

One of the primary reasons that alcoholics suffer from malnutrition is because they alcohol has high caloric content with low vitamin and mineral content. The calories are empty, without redeeming qualities for the use of the body. Alcoholics will drink their meals rather than having an intake of substantive quality food. The gastrointestinal tract within the body of an alcoholic begins to fail to take in proper nutrition. Alcohol has an adverse effect on the liver which begins to fail to take in the proper amount of nutrition as the alcoholic continues to drink and destroy that organ. 6.Discuss how prolonged consumption of alcohol affects the cardiovascular system, liver and kidneys.

Alcohol will affect the liver through the development of cirrhosis, creating a fatty liver, and through the development of alcohol induced hepatitis. Hypertension, which will affect the cardiovascular system, can be caused by excessive drinking and there is an estimate that about 50% of all cardiovascular disease associated with hypertension could be prevented by significantly lowering the abuse of alcohol. The kidney can suffer from overuse, the system inflamed and the entire endocrine system pressured to the point of damage (Ghodse, 2010). 7.List and discuss the six types of alcoholics described by Jellinek.

The Gamma type of alcoholic is loses control when drinking. Delta alcoholics use alcohol