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By Layla Martinez
In the past few years, opioids have become known for their negative effects on society, but there are positive effects.
Opioids are responsible for helping numerous people everyday recover from a variety of health issues, ranging from severe things, such as late stage cancer to pain relief after surgery.
While they often are used in the medical field for good, they are very easily abused and can turn deadly very quickly.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioids are used in order to reduce the intensity of pain signals reaching the brain. They are usually prescribed after surgeries or for any sort of immense pain.
The most common forms of prescribed opioids for medical issues are usually morphine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone. Morphine is usually used in order to help with severe or chronic pains that usually happen after big procedures or medical emergencies such as heart attacks. Hydrocodone is mostly used for short term moderate pain or for very severe coughing. Unlike hydrocodone, oxycodone is not usually prescribed in addition to other medications due to how strong it is. It is used to manage moderately severe pain when opioids are prescribed for long periods of time.
The CDC claims that as people start to build a tolerance for their prescribed opioid, this could lead to them needing to take a bigger dosage in order to help relieve their pain. Intaking more opioids can quickly spiral into addiction as many people develop symptoms of withdrawal after being taken off of their prescribed dosage.
While many addictions begin with prescription opioids, the opioid that actually caused the most fatalities is fentanyl.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), fentanyl is over 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. Fentanyl can be used to treat short term, temporary pain but it must be used in moderation as it only takes very little for it to become fatal.
Heroin is another opioid that was leading death rates before being replaced by synthetic opioids, like fentanyl.
Fortunately, there are many different recovery options for people who fall into substance abuse. Many recovery centers offer many different types of therapies that do not include medications, including music therapies, animal therapies, and even exercise therapy.
Opioids are often considered a double-edged sword, being both beneficial but also very dangerous. They can be used for good if kept in the hands of the right people but if used unsupervised or recklessly, it can lead to fatal consequences.
This article was written as part of a program to educate youth and others about Alameda County’s opioid crisis, prevention and treatment options. The program is funded by the Alameda County Behavioral Health Department and the grant is administered by Three Valleys Community Foundation.
