When it comes to medications and supplements, though, equating herbal with harmless can be a decidedly dangerous thing to do.

 

Teens may be attracted to herbal supplements for a variety of reasons. The drugs can be relatively easy to acquire, they are not illegal, and they appear to promise significant (and safe) results. Hundreds of retail outlets (both online and traditional “brick and mortar” versions) promote herbal supplements as means of strengthening one’s immune system, enhancing concentration, easing stress, boosting energy levels, and improving heart health.

 

Of course, not every teen who uses herbal drugs is doing so for health-based reasons. In some cases, the substances may offer a “high” that rivals the impact of illegal substances such as LSD or Ecstasy. But even in these cases, ease of acquisition, supposed safety, and legality can be persuasive enticements. One website that sells herbal supplements informs potential customers on its main page that “our objective is to decrease the use of illicit drugs by providing you a safe herbal high … as well as preventing you from any altercation with the law.”

 

“They say it is not illegal and that it’s an herb, so adolescents may think it is actually healthy for you,” Michael Windle, PhD, of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, told WebMD Health News in a Sept. 9, 2008 article. “This is a clever marketing gimmick to sell it online. You remove any guilt these adolescents may have about taking a drug.”

 

Unfortunately, removing guilt doesn’t also remove consequences – a fact that four Pennsylvania teenagers discovered in September 2008 when they ended up in the hospital after taking what they thought were herbal “Snurf” pills, which they had purchased online. Though the packaging listed exotic-sounding herbal ingredients such as Fevizia, Palenzia, and De la Amazon, WebMDreported that these substances don’t actually exist. What the teens actually took, multiple news sources reported, was dextromethorphan (also known as DXM or “dex”), a cough suppressant that is found in many over-the-counter medications.

 

“The message isn’t out there of the potential dangers of using these substances,” Windle told WebMD writer Daniel DeNoon. “You have a very dangerous combination of fairly easy access with absence of messages of potential harm.”

 

Even if people can verify that the drugs they purchased actually are herbal, that doesn’t mean that the potential for danger is gone.

 

According to information posted on the Mayo Clinic website, no one under the age of 18 should take herbal supplements, as inadequate research has been conducted on how the drugs affect children or even what a proper dose should be. (The site also warns adults over the age of 65 to eschew the substances, as their bodies may not metabolize the drugs properly.)

 

For individuals who are within the advised age range, the clinic offers the following advice:

* Buy only single-herb products. And choose products that clearly show how much of the herb each dose contains. Some products are mixtures of several herbs with unknown proportions of each.

 

* Beware of claims that sound too good to be true. If a claim sounds outrageous to you, trust your instinct. No one herbal supplement can possibly address a wide spectrum of health concerns.

 

* Be extremely cautious about herbal supplements manufactured outside the United States. Many European herbs are highly regulated and standardized. But toxic ingredients and prescription drugs have been found in some herbal supplements manufactured in other countries.

 

Remember: When it comes to teens and drugs, don’t ever assume that herbal equals safe.

 

In the best scenario, you have established an active presence in your child’s life that will allow you to be aware of what types of medications or supplements he is taking, and you have built a foundation of trust and communication that will encourage him to come to you with questions before he takes any substance for any reason. But since few if any of us live in an ideal world, the following tips may help you protect your child from the dangers of herbal drug abuse, or intervene before things take too drastic of a turn:

 

1. Educate yourself – The days are long gone when keeping your child safe meant little more than locking the liquor cabinet and making sure he stayed away from the “bad kids.” From sharing Ritalin to buying herbal drugs off the Internet, today’s teens have access to drugs that kids of even a decade ago could hardly imagine. And as new substances blur the lines between legal and illegal, it’s important for you to stay as up-to-date as possible on what the current popular drugs are, and how kids are acquiring them.  

 

2. Talk to your teen – If you’ve already been doing this, then keep up the good work. But even if you’ve allowed a communication gap to develop between you and your child, that’s no reason to give up. Every conversation doesn’t have to be a serious talk (or even worse, a lecture). From “what happened at school today?” to “can you believe that he hasn’t been voted off American Idol yet?” every day offers dozens of opportunities to talk to your child. Take advantage of them.

 

3. Note changes in appearance, attitude, and behavior – Adolescence is obviously a time of experimentation, and your teen will be trying a lot of things (including, most likely, your patience) as she attempts to establish her own identity in the world. Though it may offend your sense of style and decorum, this behavior isn’t a bad thing. But any drastic changes in how your child looks or acts – such as a sudden drop in grades, extreme changes in mood, withdrawal from family and friends, or loss of interest in activities that she previously enjoyed – should prompt you to take a closer look at what she is doing (and who she’s doing it with).

 

4. Don’t be afraid to act – If your child’s appearance or actions have raised your suspicions, don’t dismiss your concerns or hope that the problem will go away on its own. If your child is abusing herbal supplements, alcohol, or other drugs, he needs to get help now. His behavior can damage his health and impact his future. and it may be masking an underlying condition such as depression or poor self-image.

 

5. Get help – You’re the expert on your child, but if it turns out that she’s abusing an illicit substance, you may not be able to properly address the problem on your own. Talk to your child’s guidance counselor or your family physician, or find a professional or program online who can help your family. Reaching out for help doesn’t mean you’re a failure – if anything, it proves that you are committed to your child’s success.