What Is Drug Addiction?

Addiction is a disease that affects your brain and behavior. When you’re addicted to drugs, you can’t resist the
urge to use them, no matter how much harm the drugs may cause.

Drug addiction isn’t about just heroin, cocaine, or other illegal drugs. You can get addicted to alcohol,
nicotine, opioid painkillers, and other legal substances.

At first, you may choose to take a drug because you like the way it makes you feel. You may think you can
control how much and how often you use it. But over time, drugs change how your brainworks. These physical
changes can last a long time. They make you lose self-control and can lead you to damaging behaviors.s

Addiction vs. Abuse

Drug abuse is when you use legal or illegal substances in ways you shouldn’t. You might take more than the regular
dose of pills or use someone else’s prescription. You may abuse drugs to feel good, ease stress, or avoid reality. But
usually, you’re able to change your unhealthy habits or stop using altogether.

Addiction is when you can’t stop. Not when it puts your health in danger. Not when it causes financial, emotional,
and other problems for you or your loved ones. That urge to get and use drugs can fill up every minute of the day,
even if you want to quit.

Effect on Your Brain

Your brain is wired to make you want to repeat experiences that make you feel good. So you’re motivated to do
them again and again.

The drugs that may be addictive target your brain’s reward system. They flood your brain with a chemical called
dopamine. This triggers a feeling of intense pleasure. So you keep taking the drug to chase that high.

Over time, your brain gets used to the extra dopamine. So you might need to take more of the drug to get the same
good feeling. And other things you enjoyed, like food and hanging out with family, may give you less pleasure.

When you use drugs for a long time, it can cause changes in other brain chemical systems and circuits as well. They
can hurt your:

 Judgment
 Decision making
 Memory
 Ability to learn

Together, these brain changes can drive you to seek out and take drugs in ways that are beyond your control.

Who’s Most Likely to Become Addicted?

Each person’s body and brain is different. People also react differently to drugs. Some love the feeling the first time
they try it and want more. Others hate it and never try again.

Not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted. But it can happen to anyone and at any age. Some things may raise
your chances of addiction, including:

Family history. Your genes are responsible for about half of your odds. If your parents or siblings have problems
with alcohol or drugs, you’re more likely as well. Women and men are equally likely to become addicted.

Early drug use. Children’s brains are still growing, and drug use can change that. So taking drugs at an early age
may make you more likely to get addicted when you get older.

Mental disorders. If you’re depressed, have trouble paying attention, or worry constantly, you have a higher chance
of addiction. You may turn to drugs as a way to try to feel better.

Troubled relationships. If you grew up with family troubles and aren’t close to your parents or siblings, it may
raise your chances of addiction.

Signs of Addiction

You may have one or more of these warning signs:

  An urge to use the drug every day, or many times a day.
 You take more drugs than you want to, and for longer than you thought you would.
 You always have the drug with you, and you buy it even if you can’t afford it.
 You keep using drugs even if it causes you trouble at work or makes you lash out at family and friends.
 You spend more time alone.
 You don’t take care of yourself or care how you look.
 You steal, lie, or do dangerous things like driving while high or have unsafe sex.
 You spend most of your time getting, using, or recovering from the effects of the drug.
 You feel sick when you try to quit.

When to Get Help

If your drug use is out of control or causing problems, talk to your doctor.

Getting better from drug addiction can take time. There’s no cure, but treatment can help you stop using drugs
and stay drug-free. Your treatment may include counseling, medicine, or both. Talk to your doctor to figure out
the best plan for you.

Manila, August 16 – At least 300 children aged 5-9 have died in the recent Dengue outbreak in the Philippines, Save the
Children said today, amid fears the epidemic could claim many more lives before it’s brought under control. In the first
seven months of 2019, some 170,000 people were infected with the disease, killing 720 people – 42 percent were children
between 5 and 9 years old. Compared to the same period in 2018, this year’s dengue caseload is 97 per cent higher. The
virus is disproportionately affecting children and young people with a staggering 73 per cent of recorded cases under the
age of 19.

Albert Muyot, ceo of Save the Children in the Philippines, said: “Hundreds of children have sadly already died, we expect
the numbers to rise. The rainy season started late and will continue this month, creating the perfect breeding ground for
dengue mosquitoes.

“Children are particularly a vulnerable to the disease because their immune systems are weaker than adults and they tend
to play outside where there’s less protection against the mosquitos. Schools in particular are a hotbed of dengue because
many have open windows and lack mosquito repellents.

“It is extremely important that health authorities step up their information campaigns in schools, communities and other
places where people come together, so people know what to do if they suspect dengue. Also, the government must step up
their fumigation campaign to kill adult dengue mosquitoes in densely populated areas.

“In the Philippines, we are working with schools and communities to improve awareness on how to prevent infection. To
save lives, children need extra protection. Wearing long sleeves and trousers is one of the simple measures to protect against
being bitten. Early diagnosis is critical and we are raising awareness of those symptoms, like fever and body pain, and
encouraging all parents to take their children to hospital immediately if they have concerns.

“Save the Children is referring child dengue cases to health centers in vulnerable communities in Navotas, Caloocan and
Malabon as well as in conflict-affected provinces in Bangsamoro Automous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).”

Notes to editors:Dengue causes flu-like illness, including a sudden high fever coming in separate waves, pain behind the
eyes, muscle, joint and bone pain, severe headache, and a skin rash with red spots. People with symptoms get ill between 4
to 7 days after a bite from an infected Aedes mosquito.

The illness can become the fatal Severe Dengue, characterised by severe abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, convulsions,
bruising, uncontrolled bleeding, and high fever which can last from 2 to 7 days.

Complications can lead to circulatory system failure, shock, and death.

There were 167,607 dengue cases between January-July 2019, up from 85,011 in the same period in 2018.

Of the 167,607 recorded cases of dengue between January and July 2019, 121,942 were under the age of 19.

On August 6th, the government declared a national dengue epidemic