Patients should not needlessly suffer because of severe, intractable pain. According to the Merck Manuals, pain relief is broken into three categories: opioid analgesics, nonopioid analgesics and adjuvant analgesics. Regardless whether it is a pill, capsule or liquid, morphine falls into the opiod analgesic category. Opiates are drugs derived from the opiate poppy, Papaver somniferum.
Indications
According to Medline Plus, a medical information resource established by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, morphine is used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is often given for severe acute pain caused by surgery, acute pericarditis and kidney stones. It is also given to treat chronic pain caused by cancer. In many cases, it is given to hospice patients to lessen pain.
Solution
Liquid preparations of morphine are given orally when the patient has problems swallowing pills. This problem might rise in hospice patients or in throat cancer patients. Other preparations of liquid morphine are given intravenously or intramuscularly. This type of preparation is commonly used in a hospital setting.
Effects
The side effects of liquid morphine are the same as the effects of morphine tablets. According to the Merck Manuals. Typical side effects cause drowsiness, retention of urine, nausea and constipation. If the patient takes too much liquid morphine, breathing can become so slow that the patient can become comatose or die.
Effects
Merck Manuals reports that most of the side effects of liquid morphine can be ameliorated to some degree. For example, if urinary retention is so severe that the patient cannot urinate, drugs such as tabulosin--commonly known as Flomax-- can be helpful. Patients who become nauseated often find relief by taking hyroxyzine or prochlorperzine. In the event of overdose, naloxone is usually given. If the patient is disturbed by the drowsiness, drugs such as methylphenidate are helpful.
Warning
Traditionally, doctors warned about the risk of addiction when using morphine. The Merck Manuals explains that this risk has been overstated because addiction is rare among people who take opioids to control pain. The Merck Manuals warns about being unduly concerned about addiction to the point that patients needlessly suffer.
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