Opioid epidemic continues to grow in the United States

115 people die every day due to the direct effects of the opioid crisis in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Opioids are a special class of pharmaceutical drugs that act on receptors in the brain to suppress pain stimulants.

They also act as a high-intensity pain-killer that can become very addictive to people unaware of its effects or who have previously had opioids prescribed to them.

Dr. Bharat Magu, chief medical officer at Yuma Regional Medical Center, tells us more about the effects of opioids.

If you are on the opioid drug long enough, “you can tolerate a huge amount of opioid drugs to have the same effect,” Magu said.

The most common use of opioids is in clinical medicine. They are prescribed after surgery through an IV. Patients are sometimes also given a prescription for pain control after their surgery for up to two weeks.

Forms of opioids include oral pills, liquid IV, and even transdermal patches.

“The skin use is very common with Fentanyl which is the most potent opioid available…and it’s so effective that it can be used in the form of a patch,” Magu said.

Cancer patients, as well as hospice patients, are also given opioids to treat pain and anxiety.

Opioids are a dangerous drug because of how common the oral form can be found on the streets.

According to Magu, the CDC warns that all patients are at risk of harm from opioid use.

“One out of 20 patients who have never used opioids will be still using opioids in some form after three months…but if you had opioid use prior to that, your likelihood increases to one out of 10,” Magu said.

Opioid abuse can result in gut syndrome, iris obstruction, constipation, and can have a major impact on hormone levels.

In addition, opioid-induced pain syndrome causes an increase in what seems like pain but is actually just low levels of opioids in the body creating a dependency for the drug.

“Opioids’ physical impacts are also exacerbated by something called opioid-induced pain syndrome…once you get used [to] or dependent on opioids, opioids will then cause an increase in “pain” [and a] spontaneous low level of opioids,” Magu added.

If you or a loved one is struggling with opioid abuse, you are encouraged to go to CDC website to learn more about healthier and safer forms of opioids.