Literature Review Of Opioids

Opioid addiction is so prevalent in the healthcare system because of the countless number of hospital patients being treated for chronic pain. While opioid analgesics have beneficial painkilling properties, they also yield detrimental dependence and addiction. There is a legitimate need for the health care system to provide powerful medications because prolonged pain limits activities of daily living, work productivity, quality of life, etc. (Taylor, 2015). Patients need to receive appropriate pain treatment, however, opioids need to be prescribed after careful consideration of the benefits and risks.

Heroin is a painkilling drug that is made from the Papaverum Somniferum, also known as the opium poppy plant. All opiates are addictive painkillers. Heroin starts as a milky sap of the opium poppy. The sap is then dried and becomes a gum. After washing the gum, it becomes opium. Morphine and codeine are two painkilling alkaloids that

Analysis: Opioids are a class of drug that are medically used as very effective painkillers, like fentanyl and morphine, however, they are highly addictive and produce a feeling of euphoria (“Opioids”). This combination leads do a lot of abuse and dependency, where people take more than prescribed in order to feel better. People start off taking the opioid painkillers in order to not feel pain as prescribed by their doctors. Then, they end up getting addicted to them. There are also illicit opioids, such as heroin, that are also highly addictive and also lead to dependency and death (“Opioids”). These illicit versions are taken for recreational reasons, and are also often mixed with other drugs. The combination of taking an unregulated drug in conjunction with other drugs leads to a lot of overdoses.

Opioids are a class of drugs used to help an individual’s pain perception. They include prescriptive and nonprescriptive medications: morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, and fentanyl. Heroin is also an opioid, but it is a classified Schedule 1 illegal drug.

Opiates are derived by opium. Opium is a gummy substance collected from the seed of the opium poppy. This

Opioids are classified as opium like compounds; some (ex. codeine and morphine) exist naturally in opium, which is a gummy substance derived from the seedpod of the opium poppy, indigenous to Southern Asia. Other opioids are of the synthetic category, such as methadone or fentanyl (opioidaddictionsource.com). Though the use of prescription opioids may be well intended, due to their effect on the brain chemistry, it is fairly common for one to become addicted to them; America is amidst a raging prescription opioid epidemic, in fact.

Opioids are drugs that come from opium. Opium is the dried latex which comes from the opium poppy seed. These drugs create an euphoric effect on the brain. They attach to receptors in the brain to release opium. There are four classes of opioids. Endogenous opioids which the body release on its own at moments of joy. Opium alkaloid, semi-synthetic opioids, and fully-synthetic opioid which are all human made chemically in labs.

The opioid epidemic in America continues to grow at an alarming rate with no end in sight. All narcotics are derived from the opium poppy plant and then manufactured into different forms of drugs such as morphine, heroin, and other pharmaceutical and synthetic opioid drugs sold on the market for pain. Opium derived drugs block and suppress pain by binding to and stimulating the natural receptor sites for endorphins found in the central nervous system of a user’s brain. Patients who are prescribed narcotic drugs can quickly become addicted to the drugs because their body’s will stop producing endorphins and instead

The opioid crisis was caused by a variety of factors, but the main reason why these drugs are in the spotlight is because of the actions of the drug manufacturers. In order to fully understand the spark of the opioid crisis, it is imperative to understand what makes these drugs so potent. Writer and crime journalist Sam Quinones states that opioids are synthetic drugs. Naturally sourced drugs, known as opiates, are derived from the opium poppy plant. However, experts use both of these terms interchangeably. The use of opioids grew around the late 90s, and legally, most people used these drugs for pain relief. However, the people that were using these drugs had little information as to how addicting opioids actually were. In fact, opioids are

Oxycodone is the main drug I am concentrating on even though there are many opiates or schedule II drugs that are considered Opioids. Oxycodone was first created as part of an effort to find non-addictive alternatives to morphine and heroin, which were commonly used in medicine before World War I. Oxycodone is an opioid analgesic, ?Pain Killer? that is most often prescribed to control moderate to severe pain that must not be used with other medications. It is a slightly synthetic opiate that was created in 1916. The chemicals found in Poppy plants also make as morphine and heroin. Opiate:?A drug (such as morphine, codeine or heroin) containing or derived from opium or the opium poppy, used to alleviate pain, or induce sleep or euphoria. "Some Facts You Should Know About the History of Oxycodone." A Forever Recovery. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. Opioid:?A synthetic or semi-synthetic substance producing an opium-like effect, often prescribed for the alleviation of moderate to severe pain; a prescription painkiller in the opiate class.

Oxycodone is the main drug I am concentrating on even though there are many opiates or schedule II drugs that are considered Opioids. Oxycodone was first created as part of an effort to find non-addictive alternatives to morphine and heroin, which were commonly used in medicine before World War I. Oxycodone is an opioid analgesic, ?Pain Killer? that is most often prescribed to control moderate to severe pain that must not be used with other medications. It is a slightly synthetic opiate that was created in 1916. The chemicals found in Poppy plants also make as morphine and heroin. Opiate:?A drug (such as morphine, codeine or heroin) containing or derived from opium or the opium poppy, used to alleviate pain, or induce sleep or euphoria. "Some Facts You Should Know About the History of Oxycodone." A Forever Recovery. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. Opioid:?A synthetic or semi-synthetic substance producing an opium-like effect, often prescribed for the alleviation of moderate to severe pain; a prescription painkiller in the opiate class.

Opioids are a class of drugs that are designed to relieve pain. They are synthetic forms of the naturally occurring opiate opium along with morphine and codeine, which are parts of the opium poppy. Prescription opioids include the painkillers hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), fentanyl (Duragesic), meperidine (Demerol), and hydromorphone (Dilaudid), amongst others. Opioids of this variety are prescribed for a variety of reasons ranging from severe acute pain resulting from injury to post surgery pain relief. Illicit opioids include heroin and any opioids that are not taken are prescribed. While helpful in treating pain that needs immediate attention, prescription opioids are not ideal to treat chronic pain. Opioids, both prescribed and illicit, are highly addictive and potentially dangerous.

The earliest form of painkillers was first created in the 16th century where people used laudanum or opium prepared in alcoholic solution as pain relivers. In the early 19th century, people extracted morphine from old opium poppy plants and this form of painkiller was most commonly used in the American Civil War. As Morphine was found to be very addictive, chemists in the 1870s produced heroin that did not turn out to be a success as it was proved to be more addictive than morphine. Many other synthetic opiates such as Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet were produced respectively in 1984, 1995 and 1999. However, these synthetic opiates could only be given if prescribed by a doctor as they could also be addictive. There were also other options of

Dysphoria, formication, anxiety, depression, insomnia and inability to focus on tasks are just some of the many symptoms associated with withdrawing from opiates. Opiates, originally derived from opium plants, have been used medicinally as early as 3400 B.C. Presently, opioids are used to relive pain as they have been shown to aid in decreasing the severity of pain signals moving to the brain. However, long term usage can lead to psychological dependence and neurological changes in the body (Pregolizzi, 2012; Jamison, Butler, Budman, Edwards & Wasan, 2010). As of 2013 opioids were one of the most commonly abused drug in America, second only to marijuana. There have were approximately 1,244,872 emergency department visits related

Opioids can be divided into three categories: Opiates, Semi-Synthetic Opioids, and Synthetic Opioids. Opiates are derived directly from opium poppies. They include drugs such as Morphine and Codeine. Semi-Synthetic Opioids are derived from Opiates. They include many prescription painkillers such as Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone, Oxycodone, and Oxymorphone. However, this category also includes the illegal street drug Heroin. The third category is Synthetic Opioids, which are not derived from opiates and include drugs such as Fentanyl, Buprenorphine, and Methadone.