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Introduction
All of us would love to be free of pain all the time. But unfortunately, we know it’s not possible. We get aches and pains due to illness, falls, injuries, or medical procedures. Some people can bear a lot of pain, while others can’t tolerate it. When you have unbearable pain, the doctor prescribes painkillers. One class of painkillers is opioids.
History
Pharmaceutical companies in the 1990s assured the doctors that opioids were not addictive. Now, opioids are highly effective painkillers, but they can be habit-forming. The healthcare community believed the pharma giants and prescribed opioids in higher numbers.
These were mainly for cancer patients and patients with chronic joint or back pain. This led to misuse and addiction and was the first wave of the opioid crisis. Both prescription and non-prescription opioids were consumed in large quantities, the results of which were disastrous.
People consumed a lot more than their bodies could take, and they died of an overdose. Of course, the medical community realised that they were highly addictive, but it was already too late.
In 2010, the second wave began, and the drug was heroin. An inevitable result was an increase in the number of people that succumbed to drug overdoses.
The third wave was in 2013, involving fentanyl, most of which was illegally produced.
In 2017, the US Department of Health and Human Services declared that the use of illicit opioids had become a public health emergency.
Understanding The Crisis
The misuse included incidents by pregnant women, which led to newborn babies born with physical and mental health problems. Many had repeated overdoses and died.
Reports say that over 70,000 people overdosed on opioids in 2020. It is believed that rehabilitation programs suffered during the pandemic. Many addicts relapse because they have no one to supervise them. However, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is taking strong measures to combat this crisis.
FAQs
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Name some prescription opioids?
Morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone are prescription opioids. The first three are used for pain relief, and the last one for de-addiction to opioids.
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Why do people get addicted to opioids?
Opioids relieve pain and make people feel good to the point of euphoria. When the effect of the opioid is gone, people are back to feeling low, and they crave the drug to get a high again.
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What are the sources of non-prescription opioids?
Narcotics make their way into the US from Columbia, Mexico, and China. Some of it is illicitly manufactured in the US, especially fentanyl.
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What is the CDC doing to fight this epidemic?
The CDC is educating the public about the dangers of opioid use. It is also empowering healthcare workers and systems with data and tools that will help them make improved decisions on opioid prescription. It collects information to see where more efforts are needed and teams up with police and other authorities to tackle the problem.
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Do you think doctors were reckless to prescribe opioids too freely?
Yes, they should have done their own research rather than believe pharma companies. Also, doctors get huge commissions for selling more medicines and drugs, which is a very good incentive to make them sell stuff.
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