Bath Salts A New Fad

Bath Salts a dangerous, new drug

Bath Salts – What You Should Know

The abuse of “Bath Salts” has emerged as a new option for teens looking to get high. “Bath Salts” are a synthetic, addictive, stimulant containing amphetamine – like chemicals that can be found in local convenience stores or purchased on the internet. Bath salts come in powder form and can be snorted, injected, or taken orally, causing delusional, psychotic, violent, and suicidal behaviors. This new craze drug is also known as “Ivory Wave,” “Purple Wave,” “Zoom,” “Vanilla Sky,” “Cloud Nine,” and “Bliss.” However, the drug can be found in and is sometimes disguised as plant food, cell phone cleaner and herbal incense, clearly stating that it is not for human consumption. This new synthetic drug, “bath salts” is very dangerous and has baffled law enforcement and parents everywhere.

Dangerous does not begin to describe the irreparable consequences of the drug. Bath salts are thought to mimic the effects of potent stimulants, such as cocaine, but produce hallucinations as well. While they are legal, they have extremely negative effects and are known to cause suicide, agitation, increased heart rate, and increased blood pressure. In severe cases, paranoia, hallucinations, and aggressive behavior occur, as was seen recently in Florida, when a man high on bath salts attacked a homeless man. The DEA issued an emergency ban last October on three bath salt ingredients.

This relatively new drug is even stumping the medical doctors who are forced to directly face the adverse effects of the surreptitious “bath salt” drug. Health professionals are struggling with how to treat intoxicated patients because of the relative little information that is known. Large amounts of intravenous fluids and sedation are required to stabilize bath salt intoxicated individuals, often resulting in intensive care unit stays. Some doctors are reporting that people under the influence of this drug are coming into the hospital in one of three states: comatose, psychotic, or in cardiac arrest. The drug speeds up heart rate and makes the body temperature rise drastically. One doctor describes the blood as acidic and burning the body from the inside out. Doctors claim that they do not know the chemical composition of this drug, mostly because it is chemically engineered and manipulated on the streets. Due to the lack of information, they cannot test for “bath salts” in someone’s system. Bath salt use is spreading rapidly, killing people and costing our health care system significant dollars.

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