Opium how does it work

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Prescription Opioids DrugFacts. What are prescription opioids? Prescription Opioids and Heroin Prescription opioids and heroin are chemically similar and can produce a similar high. Tolerance vs. Dependence vs. Points to Remember Prescription opioids are used mostly to treat moderate to severe pain, though some opioids can be used to treat coughing and diarrhea.

People misuse prescription opioids by taking the medicine in a way other than prescribed, taking someone else's prescription, or taking the medicine to get high. When misusing a prescription opioid, a person may swallow, inject, or snort the drug. Opioids bind to and activate opioid receptors on cells located in the brain, spinal cord, and other organs in the body, especially those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure, and can strongly reinforce the act of taking the drug, making the user want to repeat the experience.

People who use prescription opioids can feel relaxed and happy, but also experience drowsiness, confusion, nausea, constipation, and slowed breathing.

Prescription opioids have effects similar to heroin. While prescription opioid misuse is a risk factor for starting heroin use, only a small fraction of people who misuse opioid pain relievers switch to heroin. A person can overdose on prescription opioids. Emilion physician, was submitted to the Academy of Medicine of Paris, in which he describes the inoculation of morphine paste under the skin using a vaccination lancet.

He has observed a reddish aureole at inoculation site, which has increased in size, reaching it largest diameter in approximately one hour This way, Lafargue has described a histaminoid reaction to morphine without knowing the cause.

In June 3, , Irish physician Francis Rynd was the first to administer subcutaneous liquid morphine. Rynd has injected morphine acetate solution diluted in creosote through a tool developed by him. This was performed in the Meath Hospital, Dublin, in a year old female patient with trigeminal neuralgia. Drug was injected in temporal, malar and buccal nerves pathway and, according to Rynd, pain relief was virtually instantaneous First subcutaneous morphine administration with hollow needle and a syringe was performed by Wood in His intention was to inject the substance in a nervous pathway to obtain local effect.

However, according to his own words, "the effect of the narcotic applied this way is not confined to application site; the substance reaches the brain through venous circulation and produces distant effects" Although the frequent use of subcutaneous morphine in Edinburgh, the method was poorly understood in London until Charles Hunter, young Londoner surgeon of the St. George Hospital, published in the "treatment by local narcotic injection in the affected region".

It was up to Hunter to conclude that morphine administration away from the painful region would promote a similar effect to injection around this area, and that the fact was due to systemic drug absorption The belief that opium would not cause individual or collective damage started to tumble in , and in this drug has become a medical and social problem as a function of mortality data.

According to these data, one third of all lethal poisonings were due to opium overdose, taken both as a source of pleasure and with suicide intentions 4. Three famous poets, Shelley, Baudelaire and Edgar Allan Poe were opium addicted and have attempted suicide with this drug. In the 19 th century, more notorious people were included in this list of dependents, among poets George Grabbe and Francis Thompson, writer De Quincey and novelist Wilkie Collins According to his own statement, Quincey, born in , has taken opium for the first time in when studying in the Worcester College, Oxford, by recommendation of a colleague for tooth pain relief.

This is how he described his first sensations:. What an extraordinary change! What a resurrection from the most unreachable depths of spirit! What a revelation of my inner world. The disappearance of my pains seemed insignificant.

This negative effect was consumed in the abyss of a divine and suddenly revealed pleasure. Here was the panacea for each and any human suffering; here was the secret to happiness". In he wrote his autobiography called Confessions of an English Opium Eater , which had great impact on public opinion 4. The so-called opium war, in the early 19th century, has motivated the awareness, at least of more educated classes, of the problems generated by opium abuse 4.

The habit of smoking opium was introduced in China in the 17 th century 5. However, opium imports from China were expanded only in the second half of the 18 th century, first by the Portuguese, then by the French and finally by the British, when the volume imported by this country was estimated in 10 thousand tons and 20 million pounds 9, Of course, those interested in such a profitable business have unscrupulously encouraged the habit of smoking opium.

It was natural, however, that the Chinese government would be concerned with the effects of this exaggerated import, and in , an edit was published banning opium imports. As part of the proposed control, an opium warehouse belonging to the Western Indias Company was destroyed. This act has triggered the "opium war" between England and China being the latter defeated. In , still as a consequence of the Treaty of Nanking, opium trade was legally admitted 9.

The incentive to opium use in China on part of the British government has brought about reactions in England itself, where the Society for the Suppression of Opium Trade was founded and chaired by Count Shaftesbury. This society has held several meetings aiming and protesting against the incentive to the hazardous habit of smoking opium In the second half of the 19 th century, morphine availability and the possibility of subcutaneous administration have led to its increased use even because by that time it was admitted that when subcutaneously administered, the alkaloid would cause less inconvenient than when it was ingested 4.

The American Civil War has created major opportunity for the massive use both of oral opium and subcutaneous morphine in soldiers wounded in combat and, as a consequence, there were records of several cases of physical dependence generating a social problem for the US 6. British soldiers fighting the Crimea war have also used morphine injections to help them stand the terrible battlefield conditions.

The same was true with Prussian soldiers during the war between France and Germany 4. However, concepts of tolerance, psychic and physical dependence, as well as of addition, were only widely discussed in the 20 th century. In theory the following definitions were accepted 23 : tolerance is decreased responsiveness to the effect of a drug, requiring as a corollary the use of increased doses to maintain the same effect.

Psychic dependence is a state in which the drug promotes satisfaction enough to promote the periodic or continuing use of this drug in search for the same pleasant feeling. Physical dependence is an adaptation state manifested by the presence of physical disorders, qualified as "withdrawal syndrome" when the drug is discontinued Addiction was defined by a World Health Organization Committee as "a state of periodic or chronic intoxication, noxious to individuals and society, produced by the repeated use of a drug.

It characteristics are: absolute need to continue to use the drug compulsion and to obtain it at any means, and also tolerance, psychic dependence and sometimes physical dependence. This Committee does not consider the latter attribute mandatory, but the Committee of Drug Addiction, Ministry of Health, United Kingdom, emphasizes the mandatory presence of physical dependence, with the development of withdrawal syndrome when the drug is discontinued It is interesting to note that Charles Towns, a New York physician, and probably the first to describe the addiction phenomenon had already pointed some of these characteristics 5.

The "heroin paradox" in the turn of the 20 th century should be mentioned. It was claimed that this drug could replace morphine with advantages since it relieved morphine withdrawal symptoms, and so should not promote the inconvenients attributed to it. This blindness has remained for 12 years, when it was proven that heroin is one of the alkaloids most rapidly leading to dependence 5.

Notwithstanding the deception caused by heroin, the search for opioids better than morphine has continued and in meperidine, the first totally synthetic opioid, was introduced, starting a series of phenylpiperidine-derived drugs Several other representatives of this series were synthesized and one of them, diphenoxilate, was developed to decrease intestinal hypermobility The structure of meperidine, standard drug of the series, is different from morphine's, being however possible to identify some common features.

The same is true for methadone, synthesized in Germany during World War II, and prototype of the diphenyl-heptane series The series of morphinanes and benzomorphanes, represented by levorfanol and petazocine, respectively, have chemical structures closer to morphine Dextromoramide was introduced in and phenoperidine in , which were potent analgesics encouraging Janssen et al. Fentanyl, the first of these new opioids, was available as from Hasandokht [ 9 ] conducted a systematic review suggesting that opium did not have protective effects against CADs.

It was also reported that age at the onset of CADs and hospital mortality were not protected by opium use. In another review article, it was noted that opium did not improve cardiovascular diseases. Instead, it harmed glycemic control, blood pressure, and lipid profile and caused atherosclerosis [ 40 ]. In addition to the adverse effect of opium on atherosclerosis of coronary arteries, some studies also noted that opium could be a risk factor for carotid stenosis [ 6 ].

The data from a large prospective cohort study showed the increased risk of death from circulatory diseases associated with opium consumption [ 55 ].

Some probable confounding factors should be considered in interpreting the results and design of the study. Hence, cigarette smoking should be considered as a confounding factor that was not reported in some included studies, which limits the generalizability of results. To determine the exact effects of opium use on CADs further studies are required in this area. Although the results are controversial, most of the studies mentioned above did not support the protective effects of opium against cardiovascular problems.

Future studies are recommended to evaluate the effect of the route and amount of opium use on CADs and the interaction between opium and cigarette smoking. Unfortunately, misconceptions as to the positive effects of opium are widespread, and healthy people, as well as patients with heart diseases or diabetes, should be informed of the dangerous effects of opium use on cardiometabolic diseases. Also, is recommended to promote the knowledge of medical communities and staff on the potential health consequences of opium consumption.

Future studies should aim to identify the appropriate strategies to treat substance use disorder for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular problems. Comparing cardiovascular factors in opium abusers and non-users candidate for coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Adv Biomed Res. Effect of opium addiction on perioperative needs to inotropic agents in coronary artery bypass surgery: a case-control study. Shiraz E Med J.

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A systematic review. Res Cardiovas Med. Article Google Scholar. The association of opium with coronary artery disease. Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. Opium consumption in men and diabetes mellitus in women are the most important risk factors of premature coronary artery disease in Iran.

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The relationship of opium addiction with coronary artery disease. Int J Prev Med. Effect of opium addiction on lipid profile and atherosclerosis formation in hypercholesterolemic rabbits.

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Opium comes from the seedpod of the opium poppy, which contains a variety of alkaloids that can be extracted, including morphine, codeine , and thebaine paramorphine.

Opium was used for pain relief for centuries before it was discovered how to purify it and extract morphine and codeine. It was smoked as well as ingested and still can be seen used in that way in some countries where it is produced. The active alkaloids in opium bind to opiate receptors in the brain, nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract. A side effect of all of the opiates can be constipation due to this slowing.

After taking a dose, the effects begin within 15 to 60 minutes and last 4 to 6 hours. Morphine the active ingredient has a short half-life , with half of it metabolized in 1. It's important to take paregoric on the schedule determined by your doctor to avoid overdose. You also must discuss all of your prescription and nonprescription medications with your doctor to avoid dangerous interactions. Especially discuss pain relievers, antidepressants, cough medicine, cold medicine, allergy medicine, sedatives, sleeping pills, tranquilizers, and vitamins.

Also make sure your doctor knows your history of liver disease, kidney disease, lung disease, or prostatic disease. It is best to avoid alcohol while taking paregoric as it can enhance the drowsiness that the drug produces. Prolonged use can produce dependence and the risk of addiction. The drowsiness produced by the morphine can be dangerous when driving or operating machinery, so use caution.

If you experience difficulty breathing, this is a serious side effect.