- Stigma, Shame Hit Many Gay Men Affected by Mpox Outbreak
- Calories, Not Meal Timing, Key to Weight Loss: Study
- Dietary Changes May Beat Meds in Treating IBS
- Screen Pregnant Women for Syphilis, Ob-Gyn Group Advises
- Even With Weight Gain, Quitting Smoking in Pregnancy Still Best for Health
- A-Fib Is Strong Precursor to Heart Failure
- One Neurological Factor Keeps Black, Hispanic Patients From Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials
- Managing Blood Sugar After Stroke Could Be Key to Outcomes
- Dozens of COVID Virus Mutations Arose in Man With Longest Known Case
- Blood Test Might Someday Diagnose Early MS
‘Bath Salts’ Drugs Led to 23,000 ER Visits in One Year: U.S. Report
TUESDAY, Sept. 17Street drugs called “bath salts” were linked to nearly 23,000 emergency department visits in the United States in 2011, a new report says.
Bath salts are amphetamine-like stimulants that have become increasingly popular among recreational drug users in recent years. Despite the name, these synthetic drugs have nothing to do with the crystals you might sprinkle in a bathtub.
The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) report, released Tuesday, is the first national study to look at bath salts-related emergency department visits since the drugs appeared a few years ago.
“Although bath salts drugs are sometimes claimed to be ‘legal highs’ or are promoted with labels to mask their real purpose, they can be extremely dangerous when used,” Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, SAMHSA’s chief medical officer, said in an agency news release.
“Bath salts drugs can cause heart problems, high blood pressure, seizures, addiction, suicidal thoughts, psychosis and, in some cases, death — especially when combined with the use of other drugs,” she noted.
The report said that 67 percent of emergency department visits linked to bath salts also involved the use of another drug. Fifteen percent of the visits involved the use of bath salts with marijuana or synthetic forms of marijuana.
In 2011, there were nearly 2.5 million U.S. emergency department visits involving drug misuse or abuse, according to the report.
The bath salts report is based on data from the 2011 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) report. DAWN is a public health surveillance system that monitors drug-related hospital emergency department visits and drug-related deaths in the United States.
More information
The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about bath salts.
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.