Opioid epidemic that took lives in America

Opioid epidemic that destroyed lives in America

Hordes of people are protesting against the prescription pain killers containing Opioid which was been prescribed to millions of Americans triggering a wave of addiction in the USA. Over the past 5 years alone, over two hundred thousand people died due to opium overdoses of prescriptions related to Opioids. This whole week's eyes of Americans are seeking justice from a court against drug-makers who are involved in the USA’s opioid disaster.The extensive use of painkiller medicines containing Opioid from almost a decade had made approximately 1.5 million Americans opioid addicts and had cost precious lives. 

As per the american sources, Purdue Pharma a pharmaceutical company controlled by the Sackler brothers is responsible for America’s Opioid epidemic as it produced OxyContin, the addictive powerful Opioid pain killer. With the help of aggressive marketing strategies & deceptive false marketing claims, this company gained a profit of over 35 million dollars on the sale of Opioid Painkillers. 

J&J was found guilty for spreading temporary public nuisance and contributing opioid epidemic. Judge Thad ordered J&J to pay 572 million dollars to abate the opioid epidemic. Punishment of Jail, Cancellation of Licences & Heavy fines were levied to Pharmacists who failed to report suspicious prescriptions to the authorities.

Her daughter Keli died in the opioid epidemic

In a small-town named Huntington, even the number of Opioid addiction cases are so much that the hospitals are not able to handle alone. Here the side-effects of the opioid drugs are so strong that even the infants/new-borns are suffering from breathing problems. As per the doctors treating an anti-dote for Opioid addiction, it will take the time of two to three generations to destroy the impact of this disease as the effects are getting transmitted from a father or mother who had a dosage of opioid pain killers like OxyContin.

Where Is The Outrage Over Opioid Carnage https://t.co/6mW3loL6Aa #Infowars

— Brian Hamel (@hamel1776) September 2, 2019

In 2007, the company owners and executives had faced charges on misleading doctors & patients about the risk of the drug. While responding to customer complaints, the doctors said that it happened due to a low intake of OxyContin. Now If we see this by the company’s perspective, we will come to know how they were creating a market by promoting addictive pain killers. They made their promotions by making donations to museums and art galleries located in the USA, Paris, Berlin & London. West Virginia is the state with the highest drug overdose rate is highly affected by the opioid crisis. It was a prime marketing target for OxyContin pain killers. Minors in West Virginia suffer frequent accidents while the teenagers suffer from chronic Joint pains that made them an easy target for promotions of this addictive OxyContin pain killers. 

The authorities failed to stop this false marketing of drugs as these companies hired unemployed youths for the marketing of this addictive Opioid painkiller drugs who were earning 8000 dollars a month. By the time the youth realized that these painkillers were addictive & dangerous it was already late as their friends, family, colleagues whom they suggested the drug for joint pains died one by one. Since nothing was done by the authorities the situations of people who got addicted became more serious. 

What is Opioid?

Opioids, sometimes called narcotics are a class of painkiller drugs that include illegal drugs like heroin, codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxymorphone & morphine. As we all know that Heroin is an illegal and addictive form of Opioid that is not officially sanctioned by any medical authority in this world. These medicines are often sold under popular brand names such as Oxycontin, Percocet, Palladone, and Vicodin. The authorities are also responsible as they were not looking into this for a decade. These different types of opioids are prescribed by doctors depending on the patient’s level of pain without providing secure medicine options or without informing the further consequences of these painkillers. The medicines like Oxycontin had exposed patients & other users to opioid addiction and had taken a lot of lives in the USA.

These painkillers that were effective but highly addictive were being prescribed to:

1. Patients recovering after the Operation, 

2. To reduce the pain of a Sportsperson from an injury.

3. To patients suffering from chronic headaches, backaches

4. To reduce the pain of adults or children suffering from fall injuries or car accidents.

5. Morphine is used mostly in military operations to reduce the pain of a bullet injury.

Side-effects of Opioid painkillers:

There are major side-effects of using painkillers that contain opioids. These are highly addictive. Patients can become addicted to painkillers like OxyContin in just one month. 

Patients, You might experience nausea, sleepiness, and constipation. If you overdose with these painkillers then you might face dangerous symptoms like shallow breathing, loss of consciousness, slower heart rate. When swallowed or taken through an IV, the active synthetic ingredient oxycodone present in the pills is released slowly. But when swallowed, inhaled, injected can cause respiratory arrest. 

Pain Management Alternatives

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 2 million Americans misuse opioids and every day more than 90 Americans die by opioid overdose. National Institute on Drug Abuse had also addressed a letter to the teens about the incorrect usage of Opioid drugs and advised them and their families to stay safe and alert. The risk from these painkillers increases when they are taken for a long time because of addiction and for quick relief from the pain. As per them, other pain management alternatives should be entertained before taking these painkillers. 

Pain can be managed with the help of:

1. Yoga/Meditation

2. Experienced Pain Management Staff from your hospital.

3. Biofeedback

4. Acupuncture

5. Massage Therapies

6. Surgery

7. Substitute Injections under a physician’s supervision

8. Electric devices Implants

Stopping the Usage of prescribed Opioid:  

Patients who immediately stop taking prescribed opioids can experience symptoms such as insomnia or jittery nerves. Patients can experience Drug Cravings, Diarrhea, Vomiting, Abdominal Pain, Anxiety, body shaking or Insomnia for a few days after the withdrawal of Opioid painkiller drugs. You need to take the advice from an experienced anesthesiologist or another doctor to ultimately stop the medication. As per the Center for Disease Control & Prevention, most of the people have improved body function without worsening pain after cutting back on Opioid painkiller consumption. Stoppage of Opioid drugs can help you understand your body’s discomfort level thereby helping your physician in managing your pain.

Measures to be taken for guarding the future:

What government authorities need to do is to make a complete change to their policies keeping an eye on the operations of these medical & pharmaceutical companies. Pharmacists have to learn & explain the customers the effects of these medicines that are being prescribed by a doctor before selling them from there shop. These Opioid pharmaceutical companies can be controlled in the same way as the tobacco companies were handled. We need to stay alert, in the future as the saying continues "Prevention is better than Cure"

Now that Opioid has been banned in America, these companies with the help of aggressive marketing techniques are now extending there target audience all over the world. India & Australia are on the verge of getting affected by the Opioid. The pharmaceutical market is handled by billionaires which is the reason they are succeeding in finding loopholes from the prevailing Lawsuits. 

I suggest, one should never take a medicine without consultation of his/her Doctor, especially if its a Pain Killer. If you feel suspicious, you can also research on internet about the medicine recommended to you.

Prosecutors in US charge scores of crooked ‘pill mill’ medics responsible for diversion of millions of opioid tablets https://t.co/bVfDtmcl6F pic.twitter.com/kYmkhJq6aN

— Illicit Trade News (@illicit_trade_) September 2, 2019

Disclaimer: I am a professional blogger but for the above content i was depend on reliable yet true sources. The information presented is purely to share the knowledge among viewers. As always, you can research on this topic before making any assumptions. The author and this blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any activities or ideas from this site.