Need to find a good boarding school for your young boy who struggles with abuse of cold & cough medicines? Vision Boys Academy in Sarcoxie, MO understands that you want to find a safe, positive environment where he can change and grow!

Vision Boys Academy knows that abuse of cold and cough medicine with young boys and teenagers is a fact that parents must acknowledge. Consuming cough medicine for an instant high certainly isn’t a new practice for teens. Many have raided the medicine cabinet for a quick, cheap, and legal high for decades. But unfortunately, this dangerous, potentially deadly practice is on the rise. So it’s important for parents to understand the risks and know how to prevent their kids from intentionally overdosing on cough and cold medicine.

About Medicinal Abuse
Before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) replaced the narcotic codeine with dextromethorphan as an over the counter (OTC) cough suppressant in the 1970s, teens were simply guzzling down cough syrup for a quick buzz. Over the years, teens discovered that they still could get high by taking large doses of any OTC medicine containing dextromethorphan (also called DXM).
DXM can be found in:

• Tablets
• Capsules
• Gel caps,
• Lozenges
• Syrups
• Anything labeled DM, cough suppressant, or Tussin

Medicines containing dextromethorphan are easy to find, affordable for low-income teens, and ironically legal. Getting access to dangerous drugs is as easy as walking into the local dollar store to buy helium-filled balloons. And because it’s found in over-the-counter medicines, many teenage boys naively assume that DXM can’t be dangerous.

What happens with DXM consumption?
Although DXM can be safely taken in small doses to suppress a cough, abusers tend to consume as much as an entire bottle in one sitting. Teenagers taking mass quantities of products containing DXM can cause hallucinations, loss of motor control, and dissociative sensations.

Possible Side Effects

• Confusion
• Impaired judgement
• Disorientation (slurred speech or blurry vision)
• Nausea/vomiting
• Abdominal Pain
• Irregular heartbeat
• Seizures/convulsions
• Death

Prevention of Medicinal Abuse

• Lock your medicine cabinet or keep those OTC medicines that could potentially be abused in a less accessible place.
• Avoid stockpiling OTC medicines. Having too many at your teen’s disposal could make abusing them more tempting.
• If you suspect your teen is abusing OTC medications, keep track of how much is in each bottle or container in your medicine cabinet.
• Keep an eye out not only for traditional-looking cough and cold remedies in your teen’s room, but also odd-looking tablets (DXM is often sold on the Internet and on the street in its pure form in various shapes and colors).
• Monitor your child’s Internet usage. Be on the lookout for suspicious websites and emails that seem to be promoting the abuse of DXM or other drugs, both legal and illegal.

  Call for Help with your Struggling Boy
  (888)500-4090

  At Vision Boys Academy in rural Missouri, we believe that a program of consistent daily living can help your struggling young boy learn how to make the right decisions. Some boys simply need to learn the love of Christ. Some need a more concentrated effort to get caught up in school. Some need to learn the importance of respecting other–and themselves. And some just need a change of environment.

  That’s why the staff at Vision Boys Academy focuses on providing a nurturing learning environment for struggling boys, in a safe, daily structured program that promotes personal, emotional, spiritual and academic growth.   Plus…young boys at Vision Boys Academy enjoy outdoor activities on our 27-acre campus that includes a fishing pond, basketball court, and weight-lifting area. Boys live in a comfortable dorm, able to house 12-15 boys in a safe, caring environment monitored by staff 24/7. Students and staff enjoy healthy meals together every day in our family-style cafeteria. Boys attend classes, Monday through Friday, in our newly updated schoolhouse. Vision staff and their families also live on-campus in housing attached to the school.

  Leading at-risk boys, ages 8-12, to be Godly and upright young men – that’s our purpose!

  We want to help your young boy stop his abuse of cold & cough medicines.
  Please call us today. (888)500-4090