Prescription opioids: what you need to know

Prescription opioids are medications used for treating acute pain due to surgery, serious injury or illness. When used correctly, opioids can effectively control severe types of pain. However, they’re also powerfully addictive and taking them can lead to fatal overdoses. With the United States in the midst of an opioid crisis, it’s important to understand how these painkillers work and what to do to prevent overdosing and addiction.

About opioids
Opioid drugs are chemically similar to endorphins, which block pain by binding to receptors in your nervous system. Opioids imitate endorphins but cause a much stronger pain-blocking signal. Commonly prescribed opioid drugs include morphine, oxycodone and fentanyl.

When taking these drugs, over time your brain starts to crave the high caused by the release of dopamine following a dose of opioids, which can lead to addiction. What’s more, since opioid receptors regulate your breathing, abusing opioid drugs can cause you to stop breathing altogether, possibly resulting in death.

Precautionary measures
If you’re prescribed an opioid, you should take the following precautions:

• Discuss possible risks and alternate treatments with your doctor

• Take the medication exactly as prescribed, at the lowest dose for the shortest amount of time possible

• Avoid giving your prescription drugs to others and store them away from children, adolescents and individuals with a history of substance abuse

• Never mix opioids with alcohol

• Dispose of leftover pills through a prescription take-back program

If you or someone you know experiences extreme drowsiness, slowed breathing or disorientation while taking opioids, call 911 immediately.

In 2016 and 2017, more than 135,000 people died from an opioid-related drug overdose. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency.