In medicine, there are four key vital signs: temperature, pulse, respiration and blood pressure. However, in many ways, pain is often seen as a phantom fifth vital sign. After all, a doctor's oath quite literally states "First, do no harm," and what is more harmful than pain? As such, keeping patients pain-free and ... Read More
Search Results for: opioid
Challenge and Progress: Connecticut & The Opioid Crisis
As the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports, few regions of the United States have been hit by the opioid crisis as hard as New England, with Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts all experiencing annual overdose counts that are breaking records. Another New England State, Connecticut is making news ... Read More
America’s Response to Opioids: Rising to the Challenge?
Opioids are one of the biggest threats to Americans today, as the National Institute on Drug Abuse makes clear in a recent report. As of January 2019, over 130 people die every day using opioids. This includes drugs such as prescription painkillers and synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and heroin. Consider it from a ... Read More
Delray Beach Tackles the Opioid Crisis
Opioid addiction continues to be a growing problem throughout the United States. The epidemic, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has cost 700,000 lives from 1999 through 2017. In 2017 alone, there were 70,200 drug overdose deaths across the country — 68 percent related to opioid use. ... Read More
An Anti-Opioid Vaccine? The Latest Developments
When we think of vaccines, we immediately think of infectious diseases like the measles, mumps, pertussis and polio. But now, Scripps Research Institute researchers have developed a possible anti-opioid (addiction) vaccine involving monoclonal antibodies to prevent opioid addiction in at-risk individuals. Afterall, we ... Read More
The Opioid Crisis: An American Issue?
Opioid addiction has impacted world societies since the discovery of morphine in the 19th century. Originally intended as a medicinal solution for a variety of ailments, morphine addiction spread rapidly among doctors who had easy access to the drug. Another opioid developed in the 19th century was heroin, which did ... Read More
The Role of Unnecessary Prescriptions in the Opioid Crisis
When used appropriately, prescription opioids play an important role in pain reduction. Unfortunately, these drugs also come with serious risks, including a high risk of addiction. While many doctors have taken steps to reduce how many prescriptions they write for these addiction-risk drugs, there is evidence that ... Read More
Naloxone’s Role in Reversing Opioid Overdoses
The opioid epidemic has reached critical proportions, affecting populations across virtually all demographics in the United States. The year 2016 alone saw over 63,000 opiod overdose deaths, an increase of 21.5 percent over 2015. With an estimated 72,000 deaths in 2017, this trend is only worsening, putting more lives ... Read More
