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US veterans with HIV/AIDS need to take special care when it comes to alcohol or drug abuse. Their health can be seriously affected if they binge drink or use illegal drugs. Alcohol or drug treatment should be a consideration for these individuals even in mild substance abuse cases.

Due to the high level of care that HIV/AIDS requires, alcohol and drug treatment needs to come from a provider with the resources to do both. Also, mental health treatment must be available to those who need it since the patient may suffer trauma due to combat and HIV/AIDS. Very few alcohol and drug treatment centers offer this type of integrated behavioral healthcare.

Tarzana Treatment Centers is well known for providing the highest standard of treatment for HIV/AIDS as part of our goal to offer integrated behavioral healthcare. Our alcohol and drug treatment programs staff mental health professionals as well as HIV/AIDS Specialists. Your recovery begins the moment you enter alcohol or drug detox.

Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, or any other deployment, may want to read an article published by The US Department of Veterans Affairs. A preview has been provided below from the VA website.

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Drinking too much alcohol can weaken your immune system. A weaker immune system will have a harder time fighting off common infections (such as a cold), as well as AIDS-related infections. A weaker immune system also increases the chance that you will experience more side effects from your HIV medications.

Smoking marijuana (pot) or any other drug irritates the lungs. You may be more likely to get serious lung infections, such as pneumonia.

Other common recreational drugs, such as cocaine or crystal methamphetamine (also known as “meth” or “speed” or “crank” and “Tina”), can leave your body dehydrated and exhausted, as well as lead to skin irritation. All of these things can make it easier for you to get infections.

The organ in your body that alcohol and other drugs affect most is your liver. The liver rounds up waste from chemicals that you put in your body. Those chemicals include recreational drugs as well as prescription drugs, such as your HIV medications. A weaker liver means less efficient “housekeeping” and, probably, a weaker you.

— Source: http://www.hiv.va.gov/vahiv?page=alc-01-01 –

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles makes a daily effort to find treatment news articles that we can share with our readers in the alcohol and drug treatment community. The external content was found among other articles of equal informational and educational quality.

Southern California Locations for Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Tarzana Treatment Centers has locations all over Southern California in Los Angeles County and Orange County. Other than our central location in Tarzana, we have facilities in Lancaster in the Antelope Valley, Long Beach, in Northridge and Reseda in the San Fernando Valley, and in Santa Ana.