Essay about Drug Effects

When opioids are used chronically, tolerance and dependence can occur and the side effects differ depending on the substance, as does the abuse potential (Addiction.com, 2011) (Steven A. Adelman, William J. Meehan, 2010). Combining or improper use of opioid medication with other prescription or over the counter medication could be fatal (CAMH, 2010) (Canada, 2009).

These medications have evolved and changed due to availability in the past few years. Cost has also had an impact on what medications are available to a dying patient. A patient self-administers an oral liquid suspension or a powdered mixed with a soft food such as applesauce. The mix of medications include barbiturates, chloral hydrate, and morphine which are compounded into a single dose prescription to facilitate death. Premedication is required prior to taking this final dose. The most common barbiturates are phenobarbital, pentobarbital or secobarbital. Phenobarbital is the longest acting and is typically used for seizures. Pentobarbital and secobarbital are used to sedate prior to surgery and are not as long acting as phenobarbital. Barbiturates effect the central nervous system. They are classified by their how long they take to effect and their duration of action. Barbiturates increase GABA (gaba amino-butyric acid) neurotransmissions in the brain. The increase in GABA causes drowsiness. They are highly addictive, and patients may become tolerant. The addiction is not an issue when a patient has reached this stage and does not need to be a concern. More importantly, if they have used them during the disease process as a sleep aid the patient may have built a tolerance and would require a higher dosage to be effective. Barbiturates do not provide pain relief, to provide pain relief a patient would need to reach a dose high enough to cause a comatose state. Chloral hydrate is a sleep aid or tranquilizer prior to surgery. This medication is quick

Trauma patients often present paramedics with difficult situations to handle. These patients most likely have multiple injuries that the paramedic must treat including internal and external injuries. The main concern in treating trauma patients is controlling the pain that the patient may be experiencing while not compromising the patients hemodynamic and respiratory state. The most common drugs used in pain management in the pre-hospital setting often cause undesirable side effects, such as respiratory depression, hypotension, apnea, and bradycardia. All of these side effects combined with a trauma patient who is already compromised can lead to a much bigger issue. What if there was a drug that could treat the pain, calm the patient, and not cause the nasty side effects of traditional pain management? Ketamine provides us the answer to this question.

In order to discover the effectiveness of IV acetaminophen on opioid use for postoperative pain, a detailed question must be asked to provide guidance for a search. The question asked has five pieces: (P) population, (I) intervention, (C) comparison, (O) outcome, and (T) timing (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt 2011). The full PICOT question is as follows: For surgical patients receiving general anesthesia, does the use of post-operative IV acetaminophen influence post-operative opioid usage to control pain during the inpatient

Drugs some use them to escape pain, others use them for pleasure, and some use them to just fit in. Either way drugs are a harmful substance that may seriously affect the body. Drugs mess with the brain in ways that we couldn’t even imagine. From destroying brain cells that help with critical thinking to destroying cells that give us the ability to feel pleasure. Drugs take the place of our natural body functions of the body. They fool receptors of the body and make it to where our bodies produce less of what we need. Over a period of time this may produce very severe consequences on the body. With all the risks involved with drugs it’s a wonder why some people use them.

These drugs block muscarinic receptors and prevent cholinergic transmission from the vestibular nuclei in the ear from reaching the vomiting centre in the brain. For this reason, they are mainly used to treat motion and travel sickness and can be used in patch form (Heaton T, 2014). Scopolamine (Scopace/Hyoscine), which this patient had previously been taking for her travel sickness, is in this class of drugs. There is also cyclizine (Marezine), meclizine (Dramamine II/Meni-D), diphenhydramine (Benadryl/Banophen), trimethobenzamide (Ticon) and many more (Drugs.com,

Description: Ketamine is a nonbarbiturate, sedative hypnotic used parenterally to provide anesthesia for short diagnostic and surgical procedures. It is also used as an inducing agent, as an adjunct to supplement low-potency anesthetics such as nitrous oxide, and as a supplement to local and regional anesthesia. Ketamine can be used concomitantly with muscle relaxants without complication because it does not provide muscle relaxation of its own. It is a fairly short-acting agent that provides a profound, rapid, dissociative state and a short recovery time.

Before surgery, the anesthesiologist will evaluate the patient’s current and past health to create an anesthetic plan fit for the patient. During surgery, he/she will diagnose and treat any issues that might come up. This is considered a dangerous job because giving too much anesthetic can easily kill a patient and not giving enough can create a risk of the patient waking up or feeling some parts of the

Opioids used for moderate-to-severe pain are morphine, hydromorphone, and fentanyl. Morphine is generally used in a clinical setting via intravenously (IV) or intramuscular injections (IM) after surgeries for pain management, trauma pain or in cancer patients. It is not used for individual with head trauma due to its sedative side effect. Hydromorphone is used for patients that have a negative reaction to morphine or if the morphine is not giving adequate pain relief (Curry III & Fausel, 2011, p. 28). Fentanyl, which are transdermal patches, are used for individuals with cancer who experience breakthrough pain and for those individual who are unable to take pain medication orally or via IV. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, sedation, drowsiness, confusion, respiratory depression or arrest, hypotension and death.

The most common use is for cough syrup (4). There are many controversies surrounding the topic of codeine, including using an alternative for post-surgery recovery (6). However, when studies were done, it was found that the effects of codeine when compared to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs containing caffeine were significantly more effective in reducing pain. Although, after 3 days, caffeine was found to reduce more swelling (6). Therefore codeine is more efficient for reducing pain because the opioid painkillers act like endorphins, natural pain-reducing chemicals, found in the brain and spinal cord (6). Codeine can be found in liquid form in cough syrups or in solid form as painkiller

This drug basically numbs the body and forces the person to sleep leading to a quiet death. This is the most humane drug that is currently being used and there is no other way. They have evolved and tried using other drugs but they cause physical pain instead of trying to help.

This combination medication is used to help relieve moderate to severe pain. It contains a narcotic pain reliever (oxycodone) and a non-narcotic pain reliever (acetaminophen). Oxycodone works in the brain to change how your body feels and responds to pain. Acetaminophen can also reduce a fever.

However, analgesic is the basic desirable effect of morphine, it used for other medicinal functions via the ages, involving as an antidiarrhoeal agent and an antitussive. Currently, it has also been used for the relief of breathlessness in both cancer and non-malignant disease. There are some factors that effect on pharmacodynamics of morphine such as genetic and environmental factors.

Treatment procedure requiring analgesic, narcotic or anesthetic agents that significantly affect the patient's level of consciousness

     Do people ever think about the consequences about drug abuse? Not many of us do but we all know what it does to us. Drugs are harmful to the brain and the body system itself; they affect the heart in many ways and because of that people become unconscious as to what their actions are. They do not realize how badly they can harm the community around them. Drugs are normally used by those who are not involved in activities such as, religious clubs, sports, etc. The users are normally stressed out with life and at times they just need something to set their minds aside from problems which occur in their everyday life. There are many reasons as to why and how drugs affect the community around the drug user