Youa LorProfessor A CollieENG112851CH6 December 2018Public Awareness ofOpioids

Table of Contents

Youa LorProfessor A. CollieENG-112-851CH6 December 2018Public Awareness ofOpioids Many drugs are being used today, especially in the medical field and hospitals; however, the drugs being used to help are being used negatively. Opioid is being used to relieve pain for patients (National Institute on Drug Abuse). Little do they know they are slowly being addicted to the opioid. People do not realize that opioid addiction has become an epidemic and that it is a serious issue in the world. There are ways to help the public acknowledge about opioid by learning what it is and its symptoms, the withdrawal effects, consequences, and the different programs regarding opioids. Opioid is an addictive drug that people can overuse. At first, opioids were not meant to become a drug. Its purpose was to relieve pain. “Opioid Overdose” states that “opioids can be used to treat moderate-to-severe pain and are often prescribed following surgery or injury, or for health conditions such as cancer” and National Institute states “Opioids are often used as medicines because they contain chemicals that relax the body and can relieve pain.” Since the feeling after taking opioid is “very relaxed and high”, people started to use opioids for unnecessary purposes (National Institute). In the book Dreamland, Enrique helps his uncle sell the drug and makes a living from it (Quinones 48). When one becomes addicted to opioid, there are signs such as increasing the intake of the opioids, constipation, confusion, depress, and nausea (“Public Health Matters Blog”). By increasing the intake, one’s body become more and more dependent on the drug rather than helping the pain. “Public Health Matters Blog” includes sleepiness, dizziness, and sensitivity to pain as symptoms of opioid overdose. Depending on how long a person’s body is used to the drug, the withdrawal effects vary. Some effects may harm the body and some may harm the person in other ways such as their actions and decisions being made. The symptoms of withdrawal are similar to the symptoms of becoming addictive, but the part where one is feeling relaxed is absent since one is trying to overcome the dependence on the drug. There are also later symptoms such as diarrhea, rapid heartbeat, and dilated pupils. It is understandable that if one’s body has been depended on the drug for too long, the withdrawal is more severe than one who has been recently. Not only are there withdrawal experiences, there are also consequences that one goes through. Having to experience the pain from withdrawing is one consequence of taking opioid. The drug can also have an impact on the brain and mess the brain up from functioning properly (National Institute). Spooner et al provides evidence affirming that there are more and more hospital visits related to opioid. As one visits the hospital more and more, one must be financially stable, but if one is not then it becomes an issue. A serious consequence is death. By taking in more and more drugs, the body may not be able to handle the number of drugs and different kind of actions or activities happening inside one’s body. Health is crucial to keep because without health, the percentage of surviving and the number of drugs added with it makes the body worse. The appearance of one also change, but in a negative way since the drug is harming the body. There are treatments including behavioral therapies and medicines. One way to overcome the overdose opioid is to lower the intake each week or so until the body no longer consumes the drug and can function without the dependence of opioid. Behavioral therapy helps those that are addicted to control attitudes toward the drug and increase the health (National Institute). Medicines can help along with behavioral therapy. Naloxone can help treat an opioid overdose immediately (National Institute). Opioid treatments are long term since the body response is different (Gold and Wong). By using these treatments, one can overcome their addiction to opioids and improve their health. In “Public Health Matters Blog”, the Rx Awareness program aims to increase American’s awareness and knowledge about the risk of opioids and prevent inappropriate usages. One way to increase awareness is to educate children about the drug by inviting pharmacists or those that are involved with opioid personally and speaking about the dangers to the children. Another way is to put public flyers around places that attract people the most such as shopping centers and school campus. The opioid drugs can be place in secure places where only certain people will have permission to access. For example, pharmacists can keep opioids in the back of the counter in safes and have keys or passwords to open the safe. Stores can also prevent inappropriate usage by not placing the pain relievers out in the open. Another way is having a doctor’s prescription in order to access the drug. Gold and Shale also indicate that the community can help aware people about the epidemic by creating public education campaigns, events regarding drugs, and stigma reduction campaigns. People do not notice if one is becoming an addicted because most of the time, we do not care. That is what people do. They usually ignore the fact that they are becoming an addicted until they realize what they had done to themselves. People should be more aware of what kind of medicines they are in taking because it may lead to addiction. People that are hospitalized should ask questions about what they are going to take for their pain. Asking questions in general is a good thing to do because one’s health is important. It is important to aware the public about the opioid epidemic because the rate of deaths and those that are affected increased dramatically over time. The National Institute states that “more than 115 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids” and that “more than 33,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose” in 2015. It was not just the United States that were affected, it was also other nations. Mexico was one of the nations. Based from Dreamland, Mexico was where the drug trading started. People in Mexico would have connections to people in the states and transport the drug so the owner back in Mexico would compensate. Not only were the opioid drug being traded for money, it was publicly open for anyone to get opioids because it was a pain reliever. As one consumed opioid, their body started to react and wanted more opioids and that is when people start being addicted to opioids. The opioid epidemic is happening right now. There are many things to prevent and treat the epidemic such as educating young ones, having the community to engage in drug awareness events, and medicines to treat the addiction. It is up to one if they choose to spread the word about the epidemic. If more people are aware of the situation, then the rate of deaths and hospitalized related to drugs will decrease. People can improve more on their health with the help of others such as doctors, nurses, and even family members. If people take the time to stop focusing on themselves and look at the world, there are many situations that are happening like the opioid epidemic. Works CitedGold, Stephanie, and Shale Wong. Preventing Opioid Addiction. Mar. 2018, makehealthwhole.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Treating-and-Preventing-Opioid-Addiction-March-2018.pdfNational Institute on Drug Abuse. “Opioids.” NIDA, www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids“Opioid Overdose.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24Aug. 2017, www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/opioids/index.html“Public Health Matters Blog.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30Apr. 2018, blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2018/04/rxawareness/Quinones, Sam. Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic.Spooner, Luke, et al. “High-Dose Opioid Prescribing and Opioid-Related Hospitalization: A Population-Based Study.”” PLoS One