Prince's Death Is an Opportunity to Talk to Our Kids About the Dangers of Prescription Drug Abuse
Prince is seemingly now part of a rising death toll related to opioid use, and his death spotlights a growing threat to the health and safety of teens and adults alike. Two years ago, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported 28,000 deaths from opioid overdose. Today, it reports two million Americans are addicted to these medications.
The reason opioids like morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone are problematic is that they are highly addictive and increasingly over-prescribed by doctors - so much so that the CDC recently had to publish guidelines for prescribing physicians. Prescription opioids are also to blame f...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - May 9, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Comparison of unintentional exposures to codeine and hydrocodone reported to Texas poison centers - Day L, Kleinschmidt K, Forrester MB, Feng SY.
Background
Hydrocodone has recently been reclassified as a Schedule II drug by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and Food and Drug Administration in order to curtail prescription drug abuse. There is concern that analgesic substitutes, suc... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - May 6, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Alcohol and Other Drugs Source Type: news
Addicts Using Diarrhea Drug Imodium to Get High
THURSDAY, May 5, 2016 -- Searching for an alternative to opioid painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin, some addicts are now turning to the diarrhea drug Imodium for a high, researchers say.
This abuse of Imodium -- with its key ingredient,... (Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews)
Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews - May 5, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Source Type: news
Zamicet (Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen Oral Solution) - updated on RxList
(Source: RxList - New and Updated Drug Monographs)
Source: RxList - New and Updated Drug Monographs - May 2, 2016 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news
Counterfeit Norco poisoning outbreak - San Francisco Bay Area, California, March 25-April 5, 2016 - Vo KT, van Wijk XM, Lynch KL, Wu AH, Smollin CG.
On March 28, 2016, two patients were evaluated at the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center emergency department (ED) in Contra Costa County, California, for nausea, vomiting, central nervous system depression, and respiratory depression, 30 minutes after i... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - April 30, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Alcohol and Other Drugs Source Type: news
Counterfeit Norco Poisoning Outbreak — San Francisco Bay Area, California, March 25–April 5, 2016
(Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)
Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - April 28, 2016 Category: American Health Source Type: news
Counterfeit Norco Tablets in California Found to Be Adulterated with Fentanyl (FREE)
By Kelly Young
Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD
Counterfeit Norco (hydrocodone and acetaminophen) tablets have led to several hospitalizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. The drugs, purchased on the street, have been found to contain fentanyl and promethazine, according to an … (Source: Physician's First Watch current issue)
Source: Physician's First Watch current issue - April 27, 2016 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news
Could Marijuana Help Treat Painkiller And Heroin Addiction?
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The growing number of patients who claim marijuana helped them drop their painkiller habit has intrigued lawmakers and emboldened advocates, who are pushing for cannabis as a treatment for the abuse of opioids and illegal narcotics like heroin, as well as an alternative to painkillers.
It’s a tempting sell in New England, hard hit by the painkiller and heroin crisis, with a problem: There is very little research showing marijuana works as a treatment for the addiction.
Advocates argue a growing body of scientific literature supports the idea, pointing to a study in the Journal of Pain this year...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - April 26, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: deanreddington Tags: Health Local News Heroin Marijuana Medical Marijuana opioid crisis Source Type: news
EARLY RELEASE: Counterfeit Norco Poisoning Outbreak — San Francisco Bay Area, California, March 25–April 5, 2016
(Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)
Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - April 26, 2016 Category: American Health Source Type: news
Vituz (Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Chlorpheniramine Maleate) Oral Solution) - updated on RxList
(Source: RxList - New and Updated Drug Monographs)
Source: RxList - New and Updated Drug Monographs - April 8, 2016 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news
Buprenorphine: A Key Ingredient in the Fight to Solve America's Pain Crisis
"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." -- Lao Tzu Over the last few weeks, the CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the president of the United States have all separately hit the emergency button over the subject of chronic pain treatment and opioid pain killers. Concerns over the rising tide of pain killer addiction, accidental overdose deaths, and a carryover effect causing a steep rise in heroin use have made this a "code blue" emergency for Washington. President Obama has made it clear that addressing the opioid epidemic is now an administration priority, an...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - April 5, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
This Treatment Could Alleviate Chronic Pain Without Opioid Medications
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have been working on a new way to treat chronic pain -- and it just might help curb the rampant abuse of opioid medicines prescribed for pain management. Using a wireless device, the researchers demonstrated in lab rats how electrically stimulating an area hidden deep in the brain could relieve long-term pain. The method could offer a new way to alleviate chronic pain without the negative side effects of opioid medications, said Dr. Yuan Bo Peng, a psychology professor at the university and a corresponding author of the new research. Each day, more tha...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - April 5, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
This Treatment Could Alleviate Chronic Pain Without Opioid Medications
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have been working on a new way to treat chronic pain -- and it just might help curb the rampant abuse of opioid medicines prescribed for pain management. Using a wireless device, the researchers demonstrated in lab rats how electrically stimulating an area hidden deep in the brain could relieve long-term pain. The method could offer a new way to alleviate chronic pain without the negative side effects of opioid medications, said Dr. Yuan Bo Peng, a psychology professor at the university and a corresponding author of the new research. Each day, more tha...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - April 5, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news
New depression diagnosis following prescription of codeine, hydrocodone or oxycodone - Scherrer JF, Salas J, Bucholz KK, Schneider FD, Burroughs T, Copeland LA, Sullivan MD, Lustman PJ.
PURPOSE: Longer duration of prescription opioid use is associated with risk of major depression after controlling for daily morphine equivalent dose and pain. It is not known if risk of depression varies as a function of the type of opioid prescribed. ... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - April 2, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Alcohol and Other Drugs Source Type: news
A monthly shot for opioid addiction: An option for some
On average, 44 people in the United States die every day from an overdose of opioid prescription painkillers. These drugs — such as Vicodin, Percocet, codeine, and morphine — reduce the brain’s recognition of pain by binding to certain receptors in the body. With continued use, a person can develop a physical dependence on these drugs, such that withdrawal symptoms occur if the drug is stopped. These drugs can also cause a “high.” Both of these effects contribute to addiction — that is, the loss of control around the use of a drug, even though it causes harm to the person. Addiction to opioid painkillers is the...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - April 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Wynne Armand, MD Tags: Addiction Behavioral Health Mental Health Source Type: news
