Drug Effects on the body Essay example

Submitted By giannipena420
Words: 820
Pages: 4
Open Document
List 10 Ways That Drugs Harm the Body When drugs get into the bloodstream they are carried to all parts of the body and some reach the brain. If the drug reaches the brain quicker, the effects are worse. If the drug is injected, it is the quickest way to the brain; second quickest being smoking the drug, third would be snorting it, and fourth eating or drinking it.
The neurotransmitters are affected by the drug once in the brain. Neurotransmitters control the movement of information within the brain between the brain cells, creating a synapse. Neurotransmitters also change a person’s mood and feelings, for example they can be happy one minute then angry the next. Different drugs do different things to the neurotransmitters. Some cause the neurotransmitters to produce more serotonin making the person feel euphoric, or happy. Other drugs lower the levels of serotonin in the brain and make the person have depression temporarily or even permanently. While certain drugs make a person feel extra happy, they have a crash, or when they are coming down from the drug. The brain can only produce a certain amount of serotonin at a time and the more the drug demands the less the person will have when off the drug causing the depression, suicidal thoughts, etc.
Once drugs are entering the bloodstream the heart pumps that blood containing the drug to the brain where it will affect how people react. Some drugs can weaken the heart's ability to pump blood and this causes heart failure. Also they can increase the chances if a person having heart attacks. A common drug that does this is alcohol. Drugs like alcohol and ecstasy also damage the liver causing cirrhosis, which can be deadly.
The lungs are affected greatly by drugs. Anything that is inhaled enters the blood and the brain very rapidly. Examples of this are drugs that are normally snorted or injected but are crushed up more or changed to make them smokeable, like cocaine into crack and amphetamine into methamphetamine. The lungs have the capability to absorb large amounts of drugs in a short amount of time and this makes the effects almost instant and very potent.
Another dangerous choice of drugs is inhalants. Inhalants can cause permanent damage to the lungs, suffocation or overdosing, due to the drugs clogging the bronchioles. This is similar to an asthma suffer taking their asthma medicine as the results are almost instant. Most people who do inhalants like aerosol cans and whip cream cans are asthma sufferers and they’re almost definite to result in a fatality.
Drugs numb the nervous system; this is why some people take them to temporally get rid of feelings. Before they know it drugs will make a person less aware of what is going on around him and he will not be as quick to think or react. This can make a person more susceptible to get into accidents.
Another affect drugs have on the body is addiction. The nerve cells get accustomed to having the drug and they feel like they need it to work normally. When a person is not taking the drug, after using it a lot, symptoms in the brain and body become
Show More

Related Documents: Drug Effects on the body Essay example

Metronidazole Research Paper

to your doctor about whether this drug is safe for you. Medications that might interact with this drug Drugs you should not take with metronidazole Do not take these drugs with metronidazole. Doing so can cause dangerous effects in the body. Examples of these drugs include: • Disulfiram. • Using this drug with metronidazole can cause psychotic reactions. Symptoms can include confusion, hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren’t real), or delusions (believing things that aren’t real). Do…

Words 936 - Pages 4

Pathophysiology Definitions And Key Terms Essay examples

Definitions and Key Terms Absorption - gets the drug into the bloodstream via dermal layers, mouth, subcutaneous tissue, muscle, or lining of stomach. Adverse Reactions - Undesirable side effects of a drug Aerosol - Liquid, powder, or foam deposited in a thin layer of the skin by air pressure. American Hospital Formulary Service - Contains concise information that is arranged according to drug classifications. Ampule - Glass container containing a drug, the bottle must be broken at the neck to retrieve…

Words 970 - Pages 4

Steroids: Anabolic Steroid and Male Growth Hormone Essays

Negative Effects of Steroids Over one million Americans seek shortcuts to larger muscles and greater endurance by using anabolic steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. Steroids are drugs that act like chemical in the body. Most steroids are transformed into testosterone when they enter the body. Testosterone is a male growth hormone. While the user gains some short-term results, they are hurting themselves in the long run. (Kalawalski) Some of the effects of anabolic steroids damage…

Words 853 - Pages 4

Opioids Research Paper

Drugs have serious effects on the body. A drug is a medicine or other substance which has a physiological and physical effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body. Drugs can cause mood swings, depression, abuse to oneself and others, seizures, damage to most of the organs in the body, and might cause one to consider suicide. Drugs affect the loved ones around the addict to, family especially. There are seven main categories of drugs, including opioids, cannabinoids, stimulants, hallucinogens…

Words 1368 - Pages 6

Pharm: Pharmacology and Drug Essay

Pharmacology: Drug Regulation and Approval 1. History of Pharmacology • History likely began when humans first used plants to relieve symptoms of disease. • Oldest form of health care –Herbal medicine- has been practiced in virtually ever culture back until antiquity • Modern pharmacology is though to have begun in the early 1800s when scientist began to isolate active agents morphine, colchicine, curare, cocaine, and other natural products. • They would study their effects in animals, some…

Words 4158 - Pages 17

Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

Marijuana is a drug that has been around for many years. People are asking if it should become a medical option, even though millions have been affected by drugs and not everyone know what comes with using drugs. Marijuana does help with some diseases; however, it will be so many people using it that don't need it, than people that do need it. Marijuana shouldn’t be a medical option because it has very serious side effects, it also helps teens start using other drugs, and people who don't need it…

Words 636 - Pages 3

. Anabolic Steroids Essay

at the harmful effects these drugs have on the body. Steroids are extremely damaging physically and psychologically. There are multiple ways in which a human can experience long and short-term effects from the use of these horrible drugs. The most common effects include diseases and severe brain problems. While HGH and Anabolic steroids are a serious concern for sports, it is a more prominent problem in baseball, but the frightening part people fail to recognize, is that the drugs cause life-threatening…

Words 964 - Pages 4

Essay about Substance Dependence

Substance Dependency Drug addiction or substance dependency is defined as the compulsive use of a substance to function normally, despite its negative or dangerous effects. Suddenly stopping the drug leads to symptoms of withdrawal. The exact cause of substance dependence is not known. Although, a person's genes, the action of the drug, peer pressure, emotional and environmental stress, anxiety, and depression can all be factors. A person's vulnerability to a drug also depends on individual traits…

Words 2198 - Pages 9

psychology research Essay

“Drugs and sexual Behavior” “Factors between dissocial behavior and consumption in adolescents” Grant T. Rabalais Northwestern State University The two articles I did research on focused on drugs and behavior and how there is a definite correlation between the two. They discussed how Psychoactive; also known as psychotropic or mind altering drugs change an individual’s behavior by acting on the individuals internal systems including the brain and central nervous…

Words 662 - Pages 3

Drug Addiction and Long Term Consequences Essay

Awareness Class I learned that the use of alcohol and drugs, especially among minors, has negative effects on both the mind and body. Drinking can cause you to get in trouble with the law and leave you an alcoholic later in life. The dangers of permanent body damage caused by heavy drinking, for example: kidney and heart failure. I learned that drinking alcohol is intaking a toxin and drug. It is a form of drug abuse, and drug addiction. There are good effects of alcohol if it is in small amounts, and in…

Words 522 - Pages 3