More and more students are starting to take prescription drugs at younger ages which cause problems later in life but also death if used for reasons other than why it’s prescribed. Drug abuse and the number of people using them is definately a danger.  Prescription drugs like pain killers and antidepressants are responsible for more overdose deaths than “street drugs” like amphetamines and heroin. The number of pharmaceutical emergency visits people have made between the years 2004 to 2008 was up 97 percent.  Studies show that prescription drugs are now the third leading cause of deaths in the U.S. Overdosing isn’t the only way drugs can kill, basic science explains how chemicals and compounds can react with each other so it can be bad for people’s health if not deadly.

• Prednisone and Cortisone– work great for short term reactions like poison Ivy, but long term side effects of this drug can be devastating to the bodies. People in nursing homes who have take Prednisone have fragile and destroyed body’s like muscle weakness, osteoporosis, and potassium loss are just few of the many problems it can cause.
• Prozac– an antidepressant that is not fully harmful but is highly addictive. Prozac is used by an estimated six million Americans and 12 million people worldwide, and proven to altar mood and brain behavior. 10 to 15 percent of user’s claim it has caused them to have Akathasia, which comes from the Greek words meaning “unable to sit down,” triggers an impulse of violent behavior which could lead to suicidal thoughts and hostility.
• Ritalin, Cylert, Dexadrine, and Adderal (Amphetamine and amphetamine-like drugs used for ADD/ADHD) – these drugs don’t cure, they cover. They are short acting drugs that do not cause physical addiction, but it’s the physiological addiction that is the real problem.

Cold and Flu medications–  People that self-medicate themselves use  Aspirin, Ibuprofen, and decongestants when they have the flu or a small cold, not even thinking about the toxicity from “over the counter” drugs caused by these medications that suppress the immune system to the virus. These pills can also increase the length of the time of the infection, and people experience respiratory anxiety