Opioids are the classification of drugs which are illegal without a prescription. These drugs include heroin, pain killers, and a few synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The main work of these drugs is to reduce the pain signals which the brain receives from the body.
Most of the times, opioids are prescribed for injuries, toothaches, and surgeries. Using opioids is safe when it is used properly, but if someone doesn’t follow the guidelines as prescribed by the doctor, they resultantly become addicts.
List of some opioid drugs are:
- Hydrocodone
- Fentanyl
- Opium
- Morphine
- Methadone
- Tramadol
- Oxycodone
Opioid addiction to a person can cause them the following symptoms;
- Nausea and vomiting
- Drowsiness all the time
- Sleeping more than regular
- Mood swings
- Feeling high
- Depression
- Irritability
- Low breathing rate
- Anxious
Addiction to opioids is caused due to an overdose of it. The one who has taken a lot of it over a prolonged time might not respond appropriately to anything. They will lose their consciousness, will have a slow pulse rate and breathing rate as well. In such a situation, the person around the patient must rush them to doctor for treatment as many cases predict higher chances of deaths due to a drug overdose.
Opioids do not just block the pain it also artificially creates endorphins by altering the brain, which makes the person feel good. And once a person starts being dependent on these drugs too much, they become drug addicts. In term of medication of some problem, if opioids are given as a drug to the patient, with time, it becomes a part of their routine. Using any drug for a longer period makes the patient habituated of the same. They cannot suddenly eliminate it from their lives.
Classifications of Drug habits
Drug Tolerance can be defined as the state of a person’s body where they get used to the medication given to them. At this stage of time, the person always needs a higher dose than normal to have some effect on the body. Only higher doses can help them to reduce the pain. Dosage of these drugs must be discussed with the doctor before restarting the medication.
Drug dependence refers to the respond of the body after taking some drugs for the long term. Here are a few symptoms which can be observed in the patients whose body becomes drug dependent. Symptoms of it can be as follows:
- Too much of sweating
- Vomiting and nausea
- High pain
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Depression
Drug tolerance and drug dependence are completely different from drug addiction. The initial two are completely normal as an after effect of long term opioid drug medication. Addiction is the state where the person cannot live without something; in this case, it is opioid. Hence addiction is not considered as normal rather; it is referred to as a problem in the physical health of a person. Suboxone is used to treat the dependence on opioid drugs.
Treatment for Opioid drug addiction
The scale of treatment would vary from person to person, depending upon the level of addiction they are suffering from. The main ideology behind this treatment is to help the patient in quitting the drug and prevent them from ever using it again in the future. If a patient suddenly stops using opioid, the body counters in response to that, and there might be some symptoms observed in the patient. These symptoms are vomiting, anxiety, abdominal pain, and nausea.
Some of the medications which will be generally prescribed by the doctor for treating opioids are:
Methadone and Buprenorphine– These medications are used to reduce the symptoms by the mechanism of targeting the part of the brain, which is targeted by opioids. They help maintain the lost brain balance again.
Naltrexone– It can be one more medicine which the doctor will prefer to prescribe to a patient. It helps the patients in controlling them not to restart the opioids again.
Apart from these medications, Suboxone can also be used to treat opioid drugs dependency.
Drug abuse can lead to all possible harms in life, hence to make life healthy and happy say no to drugs. If a person feels drug addicted, then the family must be wise enough to help him out by appropriate treatments.
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