What Is an Opiate?

You may have taken an opiate medication If you've ever had a dental procedure such as a root canal, or if you've perhaps sprained an ankle from playing sports. For many painful medical problems, your doctor may have sent you home with a prescription to an opiate of some sort. Opiates are essentially painkillers; they alleviate moderate to severe pain and also are quite good at quieting a rasping cough.

Opiate medications come in many forms and go by many names that you may be familiar with, and they have benefits and risks associated with their uses that anyone taking one of these medications should know.

History

You may be surprised to learn that opiates come from the opium poppy plant, which produces lovely flowers much like other varieties such as the California or Oriental Poppy. However, opium poppies also contain the basis for nearly all of modern and ancient medicinal sources of pain relief.

Many cultures across the world have used opium both medically and non-medically for longer than most other medicines have been around. Opiates have been used for at least 6,000 years, according to "A Brief History of Opium." It was discovered long ago that the milky white fluid released from the unripe seed pods of this particular poppy--papaver somniferum, to be scientific--dried into a brown, sticky substance that could be eaten, mixed with herbs in early medical preparations or smoked. This substance is known as opium.

To this day, opium presents both a blessing and a curse to the medical community, and there are many reasons why.

Features

Raw opium harvested from the opium poppy contains the active alkaloids codeine and morphine in a naturally occurring form, according to the U.S. Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health. These two chemicals can be considered the "parent" opiates of all the others used today in medicine and illicitly on the street.

The codeine in opium is an opiate that scientists have synthesized into various other drugs such as acetaminophen with codeine (Tylenol 2, 3, and 4), hydrocodone (Vicodin, with acetaminophen added), and oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet with acetaminophen added). Morphine, codeine's more potent brother, is refined into a powerful painkiller, and it has also been used to create even more potent painkillers such as hydromorphone and oxymorphone.

Function

Codeine is often used in cough syrups to quiet a persistent, raw or rasping cough when other medication's don't cut it. It is also used with acetaminophen (Tylenol) to relieve mild pain. Its more potent synthesized relatives hydrocodone and oxycodone are used primarily to treat mild to moderate pain.

Morphine, on the other hand, is a more potent drug used to treat more severe pain. Morphine was--and still is--used on the battlefield for emergency painkilling needs. It is used in hospital settings as well for persons recovering from operations from heart surgery to c-sections. Morphine and its derivative drugs are also used to treat severe pain from cancer.

These opiate drugs, known as narcotics, are indispensable in modern medicine. However, they do have a downside, and it is becoming more prominent in American communities every day.

Considerations

Another opiate is very notorious--heroin. Heroin, or diethylmorphine, is a powerfully addictive opiate narcotic commonly abused on the street. It is more potent than morphine, and it produces a "rush" or "high" when injected or smoked. Heroin addiction is a serious problem in society. That occurs because it can cause the user to focus on nothing but the drug--potentially losing jobs, friends and even family to his addiction.

Prescription opiate abuse is on the rise as well. Oxycodone, especially in its pure, time-release form (trade name Oxycontin), is very dangerous when misused. Often people will be offered oxycodone in one form or another at a party or in some other social setting, and they won't realize the potency of the drug. This can lead to dangerous consequences, including coma and death.

Prevention/Solution

Opiates are valuable medical tools used to manage pain. They greatly ease the suffering of people with chronic pain caused by back injury, trauma or cancer. The best course of action if your doctor prescribes you an opiate drug is to take them exactly as indicated and for only as long as required for pain management, since they are very addictive. Opiate narcotic medications are beneficial to modern medicine, but they must be understood and respected in order to avoid addiction or overdose.

Treatment options exist for those addicted to opiates, including counseling, detox, rehab clinics, and maintenance withdrawal treatment with synthetic opioid drugs such as methadone and buprenorphine with naloxone (Suboxone).

Warning

Opiates can cause overdose. Never take an opiate that is not prescribed to you, and never share with someone else. This practice is both illegal under federal law and irresponsible. Should you suspect someone near you is suffering from opiate addiction, help her seek treatment. Symptoms of opiate overdose include paleness, clamminess, blue lips, unconsciousness, and vomiting. Should you encounter someone with these symptoms, call emergency services immediately.

Resources

• "A Brief History of Opium"