Addictive Substances

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Prescription medications that relieve pain are classified as opioids and when they?re prescribed for a patient to manage their pain symptoms, they?re extremely beneficial and necessary. Because prescription narcotic painkillers cause tolerance and eventually addiction it?s important that pain medications be prescribed by a physician and monitored, taken as prescribed, and never be mixed with other drugs or alcohol.

Over the counter (OTC) pain relief medications help relieve and reduce pain symptoms associated with arthritis, headaches and muscle soreness. There are many other medical conditions an individual uses OTC pain pills for but not everyone responds the same to pain medications. There are a variety of medications on the market today for the treatment of pain but they should never be misused. Mixing over the counter painkillers is just as dangerous as mixing prescription pain pills. Reading labels is very important and consulting your doctor is necessary before combining medications on your own. Pain relievers that are purchased over the counter aren't always effective enough for reducing pain, depending on the circumstance a physician will prescribe a prescription narcotic pain reliever for the patient.

Nonmedical Use of Pain Killers

There are warning labels on prescribed pain medications and on all over the counter painkillers so a person doesn't accidentally misuse them. Many people choose to ignore the warning labels and abuse painkillers to get high. Today more than ever before many young people and adults either take larger quantities at a time orally, crush the pain pills and snort the powder, or mix the crushed powder with liquid and inject it to get high. Prescription Painkiller addiction and abuse is one of the biggest problems throughout the United States right now by teens, young and older adults. Many people either drink alcohol, use marijuana or other drugs at the same time to enhance the effects which has proven to be deadly many times.

So many people have overdosed and died snorting or injecting opioid pain pills, especially with OxyContin. OxyContin is meant to be taken orally and is a time-released painkiller. When a person crushes then snorts or injects this drug instead of slowly releasing medication into the person?s bloodstream it rapidly releases. This causes serious health issues and in high doses has caused many overdoses and deaths.

Besides marijuana the use of prescription pain pills for nonmedical reasons in 2008 was the most abused drug throughout the United States among people aged 12 years and older. It doesn?t matter if opioids are abused alone or combined with alcohol or other drugs the effects are serious and can lead to an overdose.

Prescription Painkillers

Hydrocodone

Hydrocodone is a cough suppressant and an analgesic (pain reliever) used for the treatment of pain. Unfortunately many people abuse hydrocodone painkillers and have become addicted to them and are in need of treatment because they're unable to overcome their dependency on their own. The Brand Names for Hydrocodone are Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet, Hycodan, and Vicoprofen. Many people choose to abuse hydrocodone pain pills because of the opioid effects.

Oxycodone

Oxycodone is an analgesic narcotic that's commonly used in the medical field to treat moderate pain symptoms and sometimes moderately severe pain. Oxycodone is marketed as a controlled release medication called OxyContin or an immediate released formula called OxyIR or OxyFast. Oxycodone can also be prescribed combined with aspirin which is called Percodan or with acetaminophen which is called Percocet. The reason Oxycodone is abused so often is because of the euphoric effects and feeling the individual experiences.

Morphine

Morphine is highly effective for relieving severe pain and is widely used in the medical field today. There are many generic and brand names today that morphine is marketed under, MS-Contin, Oramorph SR, MSIR, Roxanol, Kadian, and RMS. Morphine occurs naturally in the poppy plant and is extracted from the seedpod. Many people abuse morphine because of the rush of euphoria they receive.

Fentanyl

Fentanyl is a very potent man-made opioid and is around a hundred times more potent than morphine. The intense euphoric effects are the reason Fentanyl is abused and some people substitute it for heroin. It's extremely dangerous to substitute fentanyl for heroin though because the potency is so much higher. This has resulted in frequent overdoses and can lead to respiratory depression and death.

Codeine

Codeine is the most commonly used narcotic in the world today and is prescribed for relieving coughs and as a painkiller for relieving moderate pain. When you compare codeine to morphine, codeine is safer because there is less sedation, respiratory depression and less analgesia. Codeine is also intentionally misused for the euphoric effects and is very addictive.

Hydromorphone

Hydromorphone is a highly potent opioid analgesic or pain relieving drug. Hydromorphone is commonly and highly abused throughout the United States continuously causing problems. There are three brand names that Hydromorphone is marketed under, Dilaudid, Exalgo, and Hydrostat. Hydromorphone is very addictive but many people abuse this painkiller for the euphoric effects.

Acetaminophen

(Tylenol) is an over the counter pain killer that contains no aspirin. It's used to reduce fever, relieve headaches as well as other aches and pains. Tylenol (acetaminophen) doesn't reduce inflammation but is much easier on a person's stomach than other pain medications. The downside is that acetaminophen can be harmful to your liver so tylenol or other products containing acetaminophen should never be misused.

NSAIDs

NSAIDs are anti inflammatory drugs which include Aspirin, Aleve, Advil and Motrin. It's important to read labels and never mix medications without consulting a medical professional first. Over the counter pain medications like acetaminophen and inflammatory drugs when taken as directed and not misused are highly effective pain relievers but when abused or misused come with consequences.

Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem throughout the United States. When people abuse prescription drugs like painkillers, people need to understand they're just as addictive as heroin or meth and can lead to overdose and death.

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