Doctors typically prescribe narcotic pain relievers for greater than normal pain. Less powerful drugs have uses for everyday pain such as headaches and minor arthritis inflammation, but they generally do not alleviate severe pain. Narcotics...
Today more teens in America and around the world are abusing prescription drugs. According to a recent study reported on by Theantidrug.com, there has been a 300 percent increase in teenage prescription drug addicts since 1995. In 2006, over 2.1...
The development of medications to treat disease remains an important aspect of the advancement of medical science and the alleviation of disease-related suffering. Many Americans routinely use prescription and over-the-counter drugs to treat an...
Labor is a painful experience. Many women in labor receive some sort of medication; medical practitioners in obstetrics are always aware that they have two patients and that both will be affected by any drugs given in labor. Common medications...
Chronic pain comes with physical and emotional distress that can be overwhelming--and exhausting. When you meet with your physician, ask about treatments that can address your physiological symptoms. Physical therapy, nerve blocks and spinal cord...
Opiates are a group of medications produced from the opium poppy plant, or Papaver somniferum. Opiate medications relieve pain by altering the transmission of pain signals in the brain. The amount of pain relief experienced by a user depends on...
Opiate drugs are those that are derived, either naturally or synthetically, from the opium plant. There are opiate drugs that are illegal, such as heroin, and others that are legally available with a prescription. Opiates are often prescribed to...
Many opioid drugs, originally made from the opium poppy, have been designed in the lab to relieve mild, moderate or severe pain. Different drugs provide certain levels of pain relief and work differently for individual patients. Some opioid drugs...
Fentanyl is a opiate pain killer that is stronger than morphine. Fentanyl is prescribed for moderate to severe pain and used for individuals, especially cancer patients, who need continuous pain relief. Physicians do no prescribe fentanyl for mild...
Valerian is an herb commonly used in the United States as a natural alternative to prescription tranquilizers and sleep aids. The roots of this herb contain chemicals called valepotriates, which may produce sedative effects, according to Michael...
Opioids, also known as narcotics, are a class of medications used to control pain. They are the most effective pain medications. Examples of frequently used drugs are oxycodone, morphine, codeine and fentanyl. As a class, opiods have a high...
Cough is a common symptom of airway and lung disease. At times it can also be a symptom of other organ system diseases such as congestive heart failure or acid reflux. Since cough is generally a symptom rather than a disease itself, the best...
There are many different employment tests for drugs. Each test has different sensitivities and each company different cut off values for what is considered to be a positive or negative result. Most commonly, they test hair, sweat, urine or saliva....
Opiates are some of the most addictive and prevalent substances in the world. They include illegal drugs such as opium and heroin; they also encompass legal therapeutics like morphine and fentanyl. Despite the different names and uses,...
Having shortness of breath is an extremely scary symptom that can be fatal, according to Cancerpage.com. Shortness of breath, in addition to wheezing, can be a side effect of many drugs, thus canceling out the effects of the drug. Knowing which...
Multiple pain relievers are available, ranging from very mild over-the-counter medications to heavy-duty prescription narcotics. When an injury occurs, the damaged cells release prostaglandin and the nerve endings respond. The brain receives the...
Nerve pain is a form of neuropathy, the general term for a nerve disorder. Neuropathic pain typically arises when inflammation, infection, metabolic disturbances or physical degeneration provokes repetitive pain signaling to the brain. Sensory...
Designer drugs are chemically modified versions of therapeutic medications, which users take to alter their mental state. The physical and mental effects of designer drugs often prove unpredictable because the illegal manufacture of these...
The consumer news abounds with tragic deaths from the side effects of narcotic and sedative medications, including celebrities like Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole Smith and Heath Ledger. Understanding the respiratory depression effects of narcotics...
Testicular cancer pain is often less severe than the pain experienced by patients with other forms of cancer. If your testicular cancer was detected early, your chances of avoiding serious, long-term pain are very good, and you'll be able to...
Cancer pain management can vary depending on the degree and nature of the disease course. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are several approaches to managing pain that employ not only the use of traditional medicine, but...
It is possible to become addicted to prescription medications. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the most addictive prescription medications are opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants and stimulants. Most people taking...
Opioid analgesics are strong pain-relieving medications used to treat moderate to severe acute and chronic pain. Drugs in this class include morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone, codeine, hydromorphone and heroin. They tend to be effective in most...
Pain-relieving medications are meant to improve your quality of life whether you are dealing with a short-term ailment or a chronic pain disease. When taken legally and as your doctor prescribed, they can be safe drugs to use. However, when when...
Opiates are relatively powerful drugs that act on the central and peripheral nervous systems to dull pain, and in higher doses can be used as anesthetics. Examples include morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, meperidine and...
The National Cancer Institute reports the most common locations of cancer metastasis are the lungs, bones, the liver and the brain. Dr. Julia Maltzman of the University of Pennsylvania explains that bone is a rich source of growth factors that...
Primary amyloidosis is a disease in which abnormal amyloid proteins accumulate in various tissues and organs throughout the body. Depending upon where the amyloids deposit, some people may need medication to treat the effects of this disorder....
Pain is an epidemic in the United States, according the American Academy of Pain Management. Over 50 million Americans live with chronic pain, while millions of others are affected by acute pain due to surgery or accidents. With so much pain, it...
In 2006, doctors wrote over 2.3 billion drug prescriptions for patients in physicians' offices, hospital outpatient departments and hospital emergency departments, as recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of these drugs, the...
