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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1981)
Spilyay Tymoo Page 8 December 11, 1981 Report drunken drivers at toll free number Keeping Oregonians from Being hurt o r killed on the state’s highways is the purpose o f a new program o f the Oregon State Police and the O r e g o n T r a f f i c S a fe ty Commission. I f you See a drunk driver, you are urged to report, the individual immediately by calling a to ll free number, 1- 800-452-7888. The new progam called R E D D I (R eport Every D runk D river Immediately) features a 2 4 -h o u r - a - d a y t o l l fre e number. A call to the R E D D I phone puts the caller in touch w ith the State Police main office in Salem. From there personnel can be alerted from different State Police field stations around the state about the drunk driver. Governor Vic Atiyeh said T ra ffic Safety Com m ission statistics show that over 50 percent o f Oregon’s traffic fatalities involve alcohol abuse. “ We must get drunk drivers o ff the highway before more people are hurt o r kille d ,” he said. “ In the first eight weeks since the number o f State P o lice O ffic e rs has been reduced (due to the cut in the Oregon State Police budget by the state le g is la tu re ) the number o f traffic fatalities has gone.up 27 percent over the same period a year ago.” How to report drunk drivers (C all to ll free I-8OO-452-7888) 1. Describe drunk driver’s vehicle 2. Vehicle license number 3. Location o f vehicle 4. D irection vehicle is traveling (You don’t have to identify yourself) H ow to spot a drunk driver 1. Very fast o r slow speed 2. Jerky d riv in g , rocking accelerator 3. Frequent lane changing at high speed 4. Im proper passing w ith not enough clearance; slowing or swerving when passing 5. Overshooting o r ignoring traffic control signals 6. Approaching signals too fast or slow; je rky stops and starts 7. D riving at night w ithout lights Spilyay File photo by Rangila 8. Failure to dim lights to oncoming traffic 9. D riving in lower gears w ithout any reason 10. D riv in g to o close to shoulders o r curbs; hugging edge o f road o r straddling center line. 11. D rivin g w ith windows down in cold weather 12. D rivin g w ith head out window Realities of alcoholism shouldn’t be ignored The Illness o f Alcoholism he should stop o r n ot.” W h a t is a lc o h o lis m ? Everyone seems to have her or his own definition, but most are fra u g h t w ith m yths and misconceptions that distort the real nature o f the illness. A n a lc o h o lic p e rs o n , according to M ark K ellor o f the Rutgers U n ive rsity o f Alcohol Studies, is “ one who is unable to consistently choose whether he should d rin k o r not, and who, i f he drinks, is unable consistently to choose whether Alcoholism has very little to do w ith when you d rin k, how long you've been drinking, or even how much alcohol you consume. But it has a great deal to do w ith how im portant alcohol is to you in particular situations and how seriously drin kin g is affecting the basic realities o f your life: your health, y o lir emotional well being, your personal relation ships, your w ork, and your financial situation. T he m o re d r in k in g is interfering w ith these areas o f your life, the more serious your alcohol problem. aspects o f the problem. F or example: 1. Alcoholism is a treatable illness, as defined by the American Medical Associa The Facts tio n , the B ritish M edical A lcohol use is almost second Association, and the N ational nature to many segments o f Institute on A lcohol Abuse and society. Perhaps because it is so Alcoholism . It is no more a sign commonplace, some o f us feel o f w eaknesses o r m o ra l threatened by the dangerous, dissipation than diabetes or tragic potential o f the drug we G e r m a n m e a s le s . A n d are using. We don’t like to although some persons w ith think about alcoholism, and as alcohol problems say they feel a result, many o f us aren’t like they’re “ going crazy,” aware o f some im p o rta n t alcoholism is not a symptom o f basic mental instability. 2. Âs illnesses go, alcoholism is fa r fro m uncommon. It is simply that many people— especially women— hide their reasonably safe from having an problem to protect themselves Antabuse alcohol reaction. fro m the irra tio n a l social While extremely uncom fort stigma associated w ith it. W ith able, these effects "are seldom some 10 m illio n Americans dangerous in the sense o f suffering fro m the illness, causing permanent damage or a lcoholism is the nation's death. Care should be taken number one drug problem. particularly by fam ily and 3. Only about five percent o f others not to give the person the alcoholic persons in the on Antabuse alcohol w ithout United States fit the “ skid row ” his o r her knowledge o r stereotype o f the homeless old conversely the drug w ithout his man on the p ark bench. o r her knowledge. It is possible A lc o h o lis m a ff e c ts a l l fo r a person to be accidentaly economic groups and does not injured while in an alcohol- discriminate according to sex, A n ta b u s e r e a c tio n , f o r age, o r race. M ore then 70 example, in an auto accident percent o f alcoholic persons while driving or as a pedestrian. hold down steady jobs, are The responsibility fo r the living w ith their families., and daily does is w ith the patient; m a in ta in ties w ith th e ir thus they alone decide to community. actively support their decision 4. M any alcoholic people to stop drinking. Im portant start out as social drinkers. A here is the conscious wish o f pattern o f taking a few drinks many alcoholics to stay stober. “ to loosen up” on social Antabuse is not an answer, but occasions is followed by a a “ chemical fence,"and its ideal period o f increasingly heavy use is w ith regular counseling. drinking. Gradually, depen Antabuse helps the patient dence on alcohol increases u n til arrive at a stage o f coping w ith fin a lly, the person can no feelings he may not have longer function w ithout it. identified consciouslyor could not express. It gives him time to Your Health re-organize his life w ith the help o f A .A ., therapy, church, A lcohol is an addictive, o r other sources o f help. anesthetic drug which may be It is recommended that every affecting your health in ways p e rs o n ta k in g A n ta b u s e you don’t realize. When you regularly carry an identifica d rin k large doses over long tio n card stating the fact and periods o f tifne, you risk the seriousness o f his condition damage to your heart, muscles, i f found ill, warning against the .liver, and digestive system. use of- alcohol-. Antabuse can aid alcoholic Since the introduction in 1948, Antabuse (disulfiram ) has been used by thousands o f alcoholics both in Europe and N orth America to.keep dry fo r prolonged periods. “ In effect, Antabuse acts as a positive chemical curtain to protect the alcoholic w ith a sincere desire to remain sober from taking the ‘firs t’ d rin k which may be the in itia l step on the road to s till another ‘bender’.” (D .J. Feldman). According to D r. Ruth Fox “ a man not on Antabuse who is fighting the urge to d rin k may have to choose between drinking and not drin kin g several hundred times a day, while the man on Antabuse makes the decision ju st once. Antabuse is one o f many aids available to help in the rehabilitation o f the chronic alcoholic. Properly used, it helps maintain sobriety so that the patient may be receptive to psychotherapy, regain self- confidence, re-adjust socially and, all in all, is enabled to adopt a life in which alcohol can play no part. Antabuse alone has no ill effects, though on firs t taking it, some m inor side effects may be e xperienced, such as drowiness, headache, fatigue, gastrointestinal symptoms and halitosis (m etallic o r garlic-like a fte rta s te ). These w ill disappear as the system adjusts tp the m edication. These unpleasant side effects and se ve re a lc o h o l- A n ta b u s e reactions are rare w ith the low dosage usually now used (500 mg. firs t week then 250 mg. as maintenance dosage).. It is considered inadvisable fo r a person with heart damage o r w ith severe high blood pressure to take Antabuse b e c a u s e o f t h e p o s s ib le damaging effects o f an alcohol- Antabuse reaction. Persons w ith severely damaged livers are also not good subjects fo r Antabuse therapy. A patient who takes this drug regularly and takes a d rin k w ill quickly experience a flushing o f face (even extending down over the neck and chest), a pounding headache, palpitations, nausea a n d s o m e tim e s v i o le n t vom iting. These effects are due to th e a c c u m u la tio n o f acetaldelhyde in the blood from the delayed metabolism o f the ingested alcohol. The severity o f the reaction and duration, which w ill occur even several days after stopping A n ta b u s e , is e s s e n tia lly proportional to the am ount o f alcohol ingested. A person should not take Antabuse u n til at least 24 hours has elapsed s in c e th e la s t d r i n k . Conversely, the person who decides to d rin k should wait at least ten days a fte r last Antabuse before d rinking to be Heavy d rin kin g over the years may also result in serious mental disorders o r permanent damage to the brain. Y our mental functions, including m e m o ry, ju d g e m e n t, and learning a b ility, can deteriorate severely. Your Family You may fear outside help p a r t l y b e c a u s e o f th e hum iliation you th in k your fa m ily w ill face— and fam ily members may even strongly oppose treatment fo r fear o f “ w hat the neighbors w ill th in k .” But consider how much more seriously you are hurting them by not getting help. I f you have children, they are likely to s u ffe r p a rtic u la rly p a in fu l e ffe c ts fr o m a d r in k in g problem in the fam ily. M any women have emerged from an alcoholic blackout to find their children seriously neglected— or even physically abused. Even i f no violence o c c u rs , a c h ild w h o is dependent on an u n p re d i c t a b l e , p r e o c c u p ie d , sometimes incoherent parent can’t help but suffer extreme anxiety and frustration that may have lasting effects. Your Baby I f you are o f childbearing age, you should also consider the effects heavy d rin kin g may have on unborn children. U n iv e rs ity o f W a sh in g to n researchers have studied the babies o f e ig h t a lc o h o lic mothers and found that all the in fa n ts show ed p h y s ic a l abnormalities, including small head size, jo in t problems, heart defects, and low b irth weight and size. None o f the children “ caught u p ” when given adequate postnatal care and nutritio n . Other studies indicate that m any infants o f alco h olic mothers suffer w ith d ra w a l symptoms at birth. Reminder: A A and Alanon meeting’s are On Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m.
