Opiates Severe Pain Killers Usage Without Addiction

Opiates are powerful drugs for relieving pain. They are the most effective pain relievers available for pain treatment. When used as directed by a physician, opiates are safe and generally do not produce addiction.

Feelings of pain are produced when specialized nerves are activated by trauma to some part of the body, either through injury or illness. These specialized nerves, which are located throughout the body, carry the pain message to the spinal cord.

After reaching the spinal cord, the message is relayed to other neurons, some of which carry it to the brain. Opiates help to relieve pain by acting in both the spinal cord and brain.

At the level of the spinal cord, opiates interfere with the transmission of the pain messages between neurons and therefore prevent them from reaching the brain. This blockade of pain messages protects a person from experiencing too much pain. This is known as analgesia.

Your brain produces endorphins. However, in the case of severe pain, may not produce enough to provide relief. Opiates, such as morphine, are very powerful pain relieving medications. When used properly under the care of a physician, opiates can relieve severe pain without causing addiction.

However, when opiates are abused and taken in excessive doses, addiction can result. Research suggests that stimulation of opiate receptors by morphine results in feelings of reward and activates the pleasure circuit. This causes an intense euphoria, or rush, that lasts only briefly and is followed by a few hours of a relaxed, contented state. This stimulation of the reward system is what leads to addiction.

Opiates also act directly on the respiratory center where they cause a slowdown in activity resulting in a decreased rate of breathing. Excessive amounts of an opiate can cause a person to stop breathing and die as seen in heroin overdosing.

Filed under: Addiction

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