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Ketamine use is at an all-time high. 5 things worth knowing before the festival season

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You’re preparing for music festival season and considering your options – what artists you ought to see, who’s going, what outfits you will need, how you will get there, and maybe what substances you propose to take.

Have you heard about ketamineI’ve thought of trying it out and perhaps played around with it a couple of times. You could have friends who’ve tried it or use it frequently.

In fact, data released today suggests that ketamine consumption in Australia is at levels highest level of all time.

Here are five things it’s essential learn about ketamine (and other substances) to maintain you and your folks protected this party season.

What is ketamine?

Ketamine was developed in the Nineteen Sixties and is widely used as an anesthetic for humans and veterinary medicine. More recently, ketamine has been utilized in medicine in small doses for pain relief and as an antidepressant. A growing number (*5*)clinical trials are investigating whether it could be a useful adjunct to psychotherapy for substance use disorders and mental health conditions.

Ketamine is used recreationally, often known as K, special vitamin K, vitamin K, kit kat or ket. It is commonly sold as a white powder that is inhaled, producing stimulant and hallucinogenic effects.

Taking an excessive amount of may cause unpleasant and disturbing effects called the “K-hole”. This happens when people feel disconnected from their body and surroundings, experiencing a sleep-like state (often known as dissociation).

Other effects include nausea, vomiting and in some cases convulsions. One study found that ketamine can irritate the bladder lining approximately every fourth People who used ketamine recreationally experienced urinary symptoms reminiscent of burning or stinging.

Why is ketamine consumption so high?

Ketamine continues to turn out to be the drug of alternative for many individuals in the party scene.

Australian National Drug Strategy 2022-2023 Household Survey estimated Over the past 12 months, 300,000 people in the community have used ketamine. That’s about triple the 2016 figure and is near estimates 400,000 people using MDMA.

Results from across Australia released today show that levels of ketamine released into sewage were at an all-time high, each in capital cities and in regional areas.

It is unclear why ketamine use is increasing. Perhaps this is since it is barely cheaper than other drugs reminiscent of cocaine. Perhaps the dissociative effects of ketamine are attracting the attention of those excited about altered states of consciousness. It might also be perceived as safer and more acceptable on account of its increasing medical use.

Is it ketamine or something else?

In Australia, the purity of ketamine varies greatly. What you purchase will likely contain other substances, so it’s difficult to know what you are getting and the way it would affect you.

Ketamine analogues are substances with a chemical structure much like ketamine, but producing different effects. Many of those analogues were found during drug checking (also often known as pill testing). These include CanKet and roofing (veterinary sedative).

These analogues may go slower (so people could also be tempted to take more). Their effects may last more than regular ketamine.

You might also have heard of “pink cocaine”, one in all several drugs linked to: recent death former One Direction singer Liam Payne. Pink cocaine is normally a mix of ketamine and MDMA, not cocaine. This too often known as tusi.

Worryingly, in Australia, strong opioid drugs called nitazines have also been detected in ketamine. They have also been detected in cocaine and MDMA.

Can ketamine result in addiction?

Regular use of ketamine can result in psychological addiction, where people feel a robust must use even in the event that they have already begun to experience harmful effects.

Although the numbers are relatively low, an increasing number young people in the UK are looking for treatment for using ketamine. In addition to liver and brain damage, chronic (long-term) ketamine use may result bladder damagewhich can require surgery.

Avoid using ketamine frequently and seek skilled help early in case you think you would like help along with your use.

How to remain protected

1. Check your drugs

In Australia, drug checking services can be found in some areas. These non-judgmental, friendly services can test your medicine when you wait, supplying you with necessary details about what is (or is not) in it. You can then resolve what you ought to do with it.

You can go to a hard and fast site reminiscent of CanTest in the Australian Capital Territory or Checkpoint in Queensland before the festival to check his drugs. Some festivals or events have such elements on-site servicesincluding this 12 months’s students on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

You also can look out for local drug alerts (for ketamine and other drugs on the market) posted on web sites like ours – TheKnow.org.au.

2. Start low, go slow

If you propose to take ketamine (or another drug), start with a small amount to feel the effects before taking more. Wait a couple of hours before re-administration.

3. Avoid mixing medications

Avoid using ketamine with other substances as they might interact and increase the risk of harm. Alcohol and ketamine in small doses it may cause nausea and vomiting, and in larger doses it may cause more serious effects reminiscent of stroke and cardiac arrest.

When mixed with ketamine, sedatives reminiscent of GHB, opioids, and benzodiazepines (for instance, Valium) may cause lack of consciousness, difficulty respiratory, and in some cases, death.

4. Tell your folks

If you propose to use ketamine, use it with people you are feeling protected with. Let others know what you took, and if possible, take a friend with you who doesn’t use. If you’re concerned about the effects of a drug, seek help.

Music festivals often have supporting teams of individuals with experience with drug use (e.g DanceWize). These peers can offer you advice on safer partying and drug use.

5. Be prepared

Because ketamine may contain opioids, everyone must be prepared to acknowledge the symptoms of an opioid overdose – disturbance or lack of consciousness, slow or difficult respiratory.

Naloxone can and does reverse the effects of an opioid overdose available freed from charge and and not using a prescription in some pharmacies in Australia.



This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
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Health and Wellness

US communities phase out fluoride use in public drinking water

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fluoride, water


There is a battle raging in American cities over whether to proceed using fluoride in water.

This is a process generally known as fluoridation that began around 1945. According to to the American Cancer Society became popular across the country after scientists noticed that individuals living in water with higher concentrations of fluoride had less tooth decay.

In 1962, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) advisable adding fluoride to public drinking water supplies to forestall tooth decay. The American Cancer Society estimates that fluoride is currently used in public drinking water supplied to roughly three in 4 Americans.

However, opponents have been warning for years that fluoride in drinking water is unsafe to devour. One of the organizations leading this initiative is Fluoride Action Network (FAN). The organization, whose mission is to lift awareness of what it claims is the “toxicity of fluoride compounds,” says many of the world’s developed countries don’t use fluoride in drinking water at the identical levels as America, or in any respect.

The organization says yes it helped over 500 communities successfully reject fluoridation, and there could also be more.

Federal leaders have gotten increasingly vocal in their support for ending the use of fluoride

While FAN says communities have rejected fluoridation for the past few a long time and the method has stalled in consequence, the fight has been thrust into the highlight over the past few months.

First, the National Toxicology Program, a federal agency throughout the Department of Health and Human Services, reported with “moderate certainty” that there may be an association between communities with higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children. According to the Associated Press, these communities use greater than twice the advisable limit.

A month later, a federal judge apparently ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to further regulate fluoride in drinking water because higher levels could affect children.

Robert F. Kennedy, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to direct the Department of Health and Human Services, announced an end to fluoridation.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Health and Wellness

WATCH: Cynthia Erivo on the importance of being a sister – Essence

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This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Health and Wellness

Phenergan is no longer recommended for children under 6 years of age due to the risk of hallucinations. Here’s what you can use instead

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The Australian Drugs Regulatory Authority has issued an order safety warning over Phenergan and related products containing the antihistamine promethazine.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has stated that over-the-counter products shouldn’t be given to children under six years of age due to concerns about serious unwanted side effects akin to hyperactivity, aggression and hallucinations. Breathing may turn into slow or shallow, which can be fatal.

When high doses are administered to young children, difficulties in learning and understanding, including reversible cognitive deficit and mental disability, may occur. – said the TGA.

The latest warning follows international and Australian concerns about the drug in young children, which is commonly used to treat conditions akin to hay fever and allergies, motion sickness and for short-term sedative effects.

What is promethazine?

Promethazine is a “first generation” antihistamine that has been sold over the counter in Australian pharmacies for a long time for a spread of conditions.

Unlike many other drugs, first-generation antihistamines can cross the blood-brain barrier. This means they affect your brain chemistry, making you feel drowsy and sedated.

In adults, this will likely be useful for sleep. However, in children, these drugs can cause serious unwanted side effects on the nervous system, including those mentioned on this week’s safety alert.

We’ve known about this for a while

We have known about the serious unwanted side effects of promethazine in young children for a while.

Advice regarding 20 years ago In the United States, the drug was not recommended for use in children under two years of age. In 2022, an Australian Medicines Advisory Committee made its own suggestion to increase the age to six. New Zealand released similar warnings and advice in May this 12 months.

Over the last ten years, there have been 235 cases of serious unwanted side effects from promethazine in each children and adults reported to the TGA. Of the 77 deaths reported, one was a toddler under six years of age.

Reported unwanted side effects in each adults and children included:

  • 13 cases of accidental overdose (leading to 11 deaths)
  • eight cases of hallucinations
  • seven cases of slow or shallow respiration (leading to 4 deaths)
  • six cases of decreased consciousness (leading to five deaths).

TGA security alert comes after an internal investigation by the manufacturer of Phenergan, Sanofi-Aventis Healthcare. This investigation was initiated in 2022 advice from the Medicines Advisory Committee. The company has now updated its information for consumers and healthcare professionals.

What can you use instead?

If you have allergies or hay fever in young children, non-sedating antihistamines akin to Claratine (loratadine) or Zyrtec (cetirizine) are preferred. They provide relief without the risk of sedation and other disturbing unwanted side effects of promethazine.

If symptoms of a chilly or cough occur, parents must be reassured that these symptoms will normally subside with time, fluid intake, and rest.

Saline nasal sprays, adequate hydration, a humidifier or elevating the child’s head can relieve the congestion related to hay fever. Oral products containing phenylephrine marketed for nasal congestion must be avoided because evidence shows that this is the case This article was originally published on : theconversation.com

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