SPRINGFIELD -- The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging parents to be on the lookout for certain symptoms associated with consuming cough syrup.

This continuing trend among kids, called "robotripping," is nothing new. In fact, "robotripping" is one of several terms used to describe getting high from cough medicine. 

The high comes from ingesting large doses of dextromethorphan, found in several over-the-counter cough syrups and lozenges. These drugs are very often sitting in the medicine cabinet at home and most parents do not think that their children are abusing cough syrup.

 Parents pay more attention to obvious drugs but are in the dark about the dangers of "robotripping." The danger comes for kids when dextromethorphan-containing medications are taken with other stimulants such as caffeinated beverages, energy drinks and even prescription drugs to treat ADHD. 

Some of the symptoms are: hallucinating, feeling dizzy or nauseated, vomiting, confusion, rapid heartbeat, even numbness in the extremities. 

If you have heard your kids use the terms, rojo, skittles, orange crush, DXM, poor mans X, red devils, red hots or velvet, take some time to investigate further. 

For more information on symptoms, names and lethal combinations visit Stopmedicineabuse .org