Talking To Young Children About Opiate Addiction

It seems simple enough, having a conversation with your children. As parents, you are talking to your kids all the time telling them what to do, how to do it, when to do it, why to do it while providing a solid role model – right? But the truth is that having difficult conversations with one’s children about subjects like drugs is tough even in the most thoroughly engaged households. Dr. Thomas Bozzo wants to change that.

On November 9 at the Mattapoisett Public Library, Bozzo, a Mattapoisett resident who specializes in addiction treatments in New Bedford, presented valuable information on ways to begin the important dialogue of drug education for young children.

Bozzo sees the horror of opiate addiction everyday. He believes that early education regarding the pitfalls of using prescription drugs for anything other than short-term prescribed pain relief can turn very bad, very quickly for almost anyone. Bozzo shared a few case studies of people who have walked through his clinic doors, people who he described as having been successful contributing members of society yet found themselves slaves to opiate addiction.

There was the 23-year-old woman who at the tender age of 13 tried a pill she got from a friend. Feeling a sense of confidence she did not otherwise possess, one pill led to more until years later she would find herself jailed, infected with hepatitis C, and having her children taken. “You never know,” Bozzo said. “It can happen to anyone.”

He talked about an electrician, who after suffering a shoulder injury and receiving prescribed oxycodone, found all his other pains abated and quickly went from using pain medication for legitimate reasons to illegally buying large quantities to feed a growing drug habit.

Or the 26-year-old college student who experimented with pills in college, or the 42-year-old female whose car accident at the age of 26 found her spiraling down the drug rabbit hole of hell. For these people, the little pills became the only thing that mattered.

“Every young person needs to be aware,” Bozzo told the audience. And he had a strong message, “The best way to treat opiate addiction is to avoid it in the first place.”

He cautioned parents that when their children have an injury like a broken bone or sprained ankle, some attending physicians are too quick in prescribing pain medications. Bozzo suggested not filling those prescriptions and trying less problematic pain treatments such as ibuprophen or ice. Bozzo said, “Pain is temporary – addiction is forever.”

In discussing the doctors’ role in the opioid crisis, Bozzo said that there was a time when doctors weren’t managing severe pain adequately. However, ultra-conservative protocols escalated to over-prescribing, especially as cheaper opiate-based medications were developed. He said that there was “plenty of blame to go around” from drug companies, to doctors, to demanding patients.

“You have to advocate for yourself and your children,” Bozzo cautioned parents. Although new dispensing protocols have been put in place in the past month with tighter regulatory controls on prescribing pain medications, the education of children must remain a high priority for parents. That was the message Bozzo repeated throughout his presentation.

Bozzo said that conversations with children as young as 8 or 9 are necessary. He conceded, however, that having conversations with pre-teens and teenagers remains a challenge for parents and medical professionals.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but Bozzo offered printed materials and websites that could assist parents and educators in developing their own “talk.” He suggested speaking “with your children” not “to your children” in an open and honest exchange.

Bozzo directed the group to visit www.massclearinghouse.ehs.state.ma.us for guidance and information geared to having a conversation with children, as well as information that can be downloaded and shared with family members. The library also has pamphlets and other printed materials for parents to assist in educating young children.

By Marilou Newell

 

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