courtesy: drugfree.com
The use of painkillers is on the increase worldwide. Now a study done in Britain has brought some alarming results.
Almost 33% of all the people in the UK use painkillers routinely. Most of them say that they are forced to take them to be able to perform their jobs.
A group a group of doctors, who surveyed 3,100 individuals, has tallied the results of the investigation and has noted that many of the people interviewed for the study claim that they are taking the medication just to get by, without pausing to assess the real cause of the pain or investigate its true cause.
The problem is a class of drugs known as prescription painkillers, that are some of the most addictive substances in the world.
Of the group surveyed almost 40% were taking the more addictive substances and 7% were taking the most addictive and strongest pain killers such as morphine, petidine and other opiates.
More concerning was the fact that 10% of the group asserted that they were using the painkiller as a sleep aid.
The study also revealed that almost half of the people interviewed were taking the medication for an ailment that had occurred in the past, or that they were taking much more than the recommended dosage. Some were taking as many as 5 of the painkillers each day. A few took much higher dosages.
But the use of such compounds comes at a steep price. Apart from the usual side effects, such as lethargy and gastric complications, the compounds have a discreet and long term effect on vital organs, such as the liver, the kidneys and the heart.
Painkillers, when taken in concomitance with alcohol, can cause death, by suppressing brain stem activity which stop breathing and heart function in the drug user.
What is being observed then, is that the routine use of a certain class of painkillers can easily lead to addiction and that the patients were taking the medication for a much longer time than necessary.
In addition, relying on painkillers as a solution to an injury, for example, precludes a proper treatment therapy, which could resolve the condition for which the drug is taken altogether.
The use of the drugs also has psychological side effects which can worsen the addictive trend in those who take the compounds. Of the people surveyed, almost half said they could not sleep, the other half said they were unable to exercise, and in 15% of them told there was an occurrence of depression during the painkillers assumption which had not previously been experienced by the patient.
In the United States, new efforts are being made to combat the growing addiction trend. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has launched an initiative that would see stricter guidelines for the dispensation and prescription of painkiller to prevent abuse. This was prompted by an increase in deaths from overdose of painkillers, a trend that is consistent nationwide.
Partial sourcing: The Guardian 2.25.13
Almost 33% of all the people in the UK use painkillers routinely. Most of them say that they are forced to take them to be able to perform their jobs.
A group a group of doctors, who surveyed 3,100 individuals, has tallied the results of the investigation and has noted that many of the people interviewed for the study claim that they are taking the medication just to get by, without pausing to assess the real cause of the pain or investigate its true cause.
The problem is a class of drugs known as prescription painkillers, that are some of the most addictive substances in the world.
Of the group surveyed almost 40% were taking the more addictive substances and 7% were taking the most addictive and strongest pain killers such as morphine, petidine and other opiates.
More concerning was the fact that 10% of the group asserted that they were using the painkiller as a sleep aid.
The study also revealed that almost half of the people interviewed were taking the medication for an ailment that had occurred in the past, or that they were taking much more than the recommended dosage. Some were taking as many as 5 of the painkillers each day. A few took much higher dosages.
PAINKILLER ABUSE MAP OF THE UNITED STATES
courtesy : NPR
Painkillers, when taken in concomitance with alcohol, can cause death, by suppressing brain stem activity which stop breathing and heart function in the drug user.
What is being observed then, is that the routine use of a certain class of painkillers can easily lead to addiction and that the patients were taking the medication for a much longer time than necessary.
In addition, relying on painkillers as a solution to an injury, for example, precludes a proper treatment therapy, which could resolve the condition for which the drug is taken altogether.
The use of the drugs also has psychological side effects which can worsen the addictive trend in those who take the compounds. Of the people surveyed, almost half said they could not sleep, the other half said they were unable to exercise, and in 15% of them told there was an occurrence of depression during the painkillers assumption which had not previously been experienced by the patient.
In the United States, new efforts are being made to combat the growing addiction trend. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has launched an initiative that would see stricter guidelines for the dispensation and prescription of painkiller to prevent abuse. This was prompted by an increase in deaths from overdose of painkillers, a trend that is consistent nationwide.
Partial sourcing: The Guardian 2.25.13
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