Opioids are a popular class of drugs used to relieve pain. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the drugs reduce pain signals that reach the brain and can sometimes create a euphoric feeling within the user. Some drugs that fit into the opioid category include heroine and prescribed pills such as morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, and related drugs.
While opioids are often prescribed to help reduce pain brought on from surgeries, dental work, and both major and minor injuries, the drugs can come with very real dangers. In 2014, drug overdoses were the leading cause of accidental deaths, with 47,055 lethal overdoses occurring that year, according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Several of those overdoes were due to opioid addiction.
Here are 5 life-saving facts you need to know before you take opioids.
Opioid addiction is a leading overdose killer.
Of all the lethal overdoses of 2014, 18,893 of the deaths were related to prescription painkillers, and 10,574 of those overdose deaths were due to heroine. The overdose death rate in 2008 was nearly four times more than in 1999. By 2010, the sales of pain relievers was four times higher than in 1999. By 2009, the number of those receiving substance abuse treatment was six times higher than it was in 1999.
Most new heroine users first misused opioids.
Four out of five new heroin users began their addiction by misusing prescription pain relievers. The number of lethal heroin overdoses quadrupled from 2000 to 2013.
Women are more affected from opioid misuse than men.
Women are more likely to experience chronic pain than men, and therefore are more likely to be prescribed painkillers and given higher doses. Women are also more likely to become addicted to painkillers. Lethal overdoses on prescribed pain relievers rose 400 percent from 1999 to 2010, compared to the 237 percent increase among men.
Adolescents are also at risk of becoming addicted to opioids.
In 2014, 467,000 children ages 12 to 17 were nonmedical users of painkillers. Of those children, 168,000 were addicted to pain relief medication. Many children are given pain relievers by relatives or friends.
Taking opioids properly and as prescribed is the best way to avoid addiction.
Short-term use of opioids rarely leads to addiction. If the drugs are taken as prescribed, in terms of frequency and dosage, opioids can be an effective, safe way of relieving pain.
