Individualized drug counseling does more than focus on reducing or stopping illicit drug or alcohol use. Drug counseling also addresses related areas of impaired functioning such as employment status, illegal activity and family or social. By emphasizing short term behavioral goals, individualized counseling helps the patient develop coping strategies and tools to abstain from drug use and maintain abstinence. The addiction counselor encourages 12-step participation at least one or two times per week and refer the patient to experts who can provide supplemental medical, psychiatric, employment and other services.

Externally Applied Antibiotics

Externally applied antibiotics such as erythromycin, clindamycin, Stievamycin or tetracycline kill the bacteria that grow in the blocked follicles. While topical use of antibiotics is equally as effective as oral use, this method avoids possible side effects including upset stomach and drug interactions (e.g. it will not affect use of the oral contraceptive pill), but may prove awkward to apply over larger areas than just the face alone.

Do You Think You Have a Sleep Disorder?

At various points in life, almost everyone suffers from a lack of sleep. People can easily repay these sleep debts by later on getting enough sleep. However, if a person spends enough time in bed and still wakes up tired or feel very sleepy during the day, this may be a sign of a sleep disorder.
One of the best ways to determine a good quality of sleep and the signs of a sleep disorder is keeping a sleep diary. Use the "Sample Sleep Diary" to record the quality and quantity of sleep; any use of medications, alcohol and caffeinated beverages; exercise patterns; and the levels of sleepiness felt during the day. After a week or so, look over this information to see how many hours of sleep or nighttime awak­enings relate to being tired the next day. This information will provide a sense of how much uninterrupted sleep needed in order to avoid daytime sleepiness.
If a sleep diary reveals any of the following, see a doctor:

• Consistently taking more than 30 minutes each night to fall asleep.
• Consistently waking up more than a few times or for long periods of time each night.
• Taking frequent naps.
• Feeling sleepy during the day, especially if falling asleep at inappropriate times during the day.