Opioid Epidemic

The opioid epidemic, in particular, refers to the increasing number of opioid deaths and

hospital admissions, including both prescription and illicit drugs. In recent years, the death rate

from these drugs has reached more than 40,000 annually, or 115 per day, across the United

States. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental deaths in the United States, largely

due to the opioid epidemic. The opioid epidemic first gained notoriety around 2010, but the

factors behind it began many years ago.

Many people trace this problem back to the late 1990's. As pharmaceutical companies

sought new painkillers, they began delivering synthetic and semi-synthetic opioids to doctors.

The companies said the drugs were either less addictive than morphine or were not addictive and

had no dangerous side effects. Doctors began prescribing these drugs because they saw no effect

on the patients taking them. This growth in the prescription opioid business has pushed the

distribution of opioids directly to the level to which we are still dealing with this epidemic.

The opioid epidemic is a complex problem that involves many contributing factors,

including pain under treatment, prescription methods, drug abuse and stigma. Therefore,

solutions that address only one component of the problem run the risk of inadvertently

exacerbating other epidemics. Of particular importance is the effect of the current solution on the

population of chronic pain patients. These patients are at risk when policies, proposed guidelines

and public perceptions take a single approach to such a complex issue. In fact, ways to deal with

the opium epidemic that fail to address the specific needs of this population can in itself

exacerbate the epidemic and have devastating consequences for these patients and their families.

Thus, instead of all styles of the same size, it is worth considering ways in which we can reduce
the risks to this population while ensuring that their pain management needs are met (Dowell

1624-1645).

Medical Humanities Aspect

Medical humanities is a field of study that asks what it means to be human in the context of

health and healthcare. It is a comprehensive response to the needs of medical education,

professional development, and patient care, combining the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Because medical humanities is an interdisciplinary field, its intersection between humanity and

medicine invites many possibilities in the sub-specialties and concerns (Thorpe 19-35). To help

harmonize these diverse approaches, one can imagine medical humanity as consisting of three

"Es":

• Education: Medical humanities develops training in health professions that include cultural

competence, communication, ethical reasoning, critical thinking and empathy skills.

• Experience: Medical Humanities uses the ideas and perspectives of the arts and humanities

to identify the emotional, social, and cultural needs of these people in the patient and

healthcare communities.

• Expression: Medical Humanities facilitates communication through art and humanities as a

means of further research and healing of healthcare issues.

In 2016, prescription opioid abuse rates were high - an estimated 15 million people.

However, it is important to note that of the adults who reported using opioids, 69.9% used them

without a prescription and 40.6% received free prescription opioids from friends or relatives.
Such numbers clearly show that abuse and abuse are not caused by the large number of people

who use opioids properly and under the supervision of a medical professional to treat their pain.

Yes, but without any prescription or use outside of recommended instructions (Hooker 33).

Chronic pain recognition and initial treatment approach

The term "chronic pain" refers to a variety of conditions ranging from, but not limited to,

rheumatoid arthritis, diabetic neuropathy, lower back pain, chronic headaches, fibromyalgia, and

irritable bowel syndrome. Chronic pains have different pathologies and often differ in their

response to painkillers. They are a burden to the individual, their family members and society as

a whole. The presence of chronic pain in patients also increases the risk of depression and

anxiety, and it is estimated that the suicide rate in this population of patients is two to three times

higher. Suicides are twice as common. All of these features highlight the complex problem of

chronic pain as a national public health crisis. The publication of the Institute of Medicine's

report on chronic pain in the United States in 2011 and the introduction of the National Pain

Strategy by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services in March 2016

highlighted the country's growing attention. The aforementioned documents put the number of

Americans suffering from chronic pain at 100 million and the annual national economic burden

at 565-600 billion. Although the severity of these numbers has been challenged, it is agreed that

chronic pain is a major global problem (Harvey 188-194).

Chronic pain as a unique disease state

The global problem of pain has long been recognized by the International Association for

the Study of Pain (IASP), which has for decades worked with the World Health Organization
(WHO) and others to create research priorities and global consensus. Have tried the proposed

guidelines also serve to define pain itself as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience

associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage." The

presentation of acute pain is often an important factor in motivating patients to seek a medical

diagnosis and thus is often an important aspect of diagnosing the underlying disease. Therefore,

pain is traditionally seen as a symptom, rather than as a condition of one's own illness (170).

For a large segment of the population, however, the transition from acute to chronic pain

represents an experience that is clearly independent of the pathology of the additional disease.

Under these circumstances, residual or ongoing pain is not related to any other identifiable

underlying disease. In these cases, the neurobiological changes that are often associated with

such chronic pain correspond more favorably to an independent classification and, therefore, it

has been suggested that chronic pain as a condition of its disease. Support for such a push came

from the advent of imaging capabilities, which established that chronic pain patients have

changed the brain in terms of changes in basic function, structure, and neurochemistry. Such

changes are consistent with the profile of the disease state and have in fact led to the recognition

of other conditions as independent diseases, such as the classification of addiction as a disease.

However, the concept of chronic pain as a disease has not yet been universally accepted,

especially through other medical features, and thus the proposal remains an area of ongoing

debate. However, the implications of such a consensus definition are important not only in terms

of how it may affect resource allocation but also in helping to differentiate between chronic pain

patients and their pain which Worth a unique approach to analgesic treatment. It can be safely

included, instead of banning supervised and responsible opioid therapy.

Addiction and Opioid Use in Chronic Pain Patients

Addiction to a disease first appeared in 1980 when the third edition of the Mental

Disorders Diagnostic and Statistics Booklet (DSM III) described substance abuse disorders

independently of other mental health conditions. ‫ ۔‬As this theory emerges, neuroanatomical and

physiological studies confirm that there is a biological basis for the idea that repeated drug use

causes changes in the brain that manifest as compulsive behaviors. Similarly, biological

mechanisms based on the tendency to abuse and transition to opioid addiction have been

extensively studied in both human and animal models. Dopamine neurotransmission changes

occur simultaneously in those parts of the brain that are primarily responsible for the reward

action, and in this part of the brain stress and Hate is responsible for running the system. While

the main changes in dopamine neurotransmission that result from increased drug use behavior

are pathological stress responses found in the enlarged amygdala, which is a sign of intoxication.

However, especially with chronic pain patients, it is important to understand that opioid use is

not something like opioid abuse or misuse. Misuse of opioids is different and is defined as

"taking more than prescribed or differently". Opioid abuse is further distinguished as "intentional

use for non-medical purposes." Such distinctions are not only key to controlling the opioid

epidemic but also to ensure that patients for whom opioid use has been identified and properly

administered Yes, their access is not restricted or restricted. Extensive pre-clinical literature

shows that self-administration of commonly prescribed analgesic opioids translates into chronic

pain conditions. For example, analgesic drugs that are not usually addictive, such as clonidine,

become stronger in chronic pain.

 Because pain pathways represent an essential warning system for identifying pending

harm to an organism, this is due to changes in compensation resulting from the chronic inhibition

of pain signaling through the use of opioids. Which increase the patient's ability to detect pain.

Such an obstruction in homeostasis results in a general hypersensitivity called "hyperalgesia".

Opioid-induced hyperalgesia is increasingly recognized as an emerging pain condition associated

with chronic opioid use.

The Problem of Stigmatization

This misunderstanding of the difference between proper and inappropriate use of opioids

has exacerbated the problem of stigma around chronic pain patients and even the medical

professionals who treat them. This, too, contradicts effective opioid management. Despite

decades of efforts by healthcare professional societies and patient advocacy groups to alleviate

and alleviate the disorder, patients with pain are treated culturally and medically (Koob 13-23).

There is a greater risk of being defamed. In addition, pain management healthcare professionals

may face the same risks of social ills as the fear of prescribing. The most famous cases of policy

and criminal prosecution effects policy, medical practice and drug development. The perceived

conflict of interest between pain management and professional research societies and the undue

influence of pharmaceutical manufacturers have further discredited patients, pain management

and research advocacy groups. However, in the absence of a complete mission of such free

societies and a comprehensive description of academic, research and consensus achievements,

activist advocacy groups are in fact undermining the ultimate goal for pain patients and pain

management providers. Deliver, which is a comprehensive approach. This may include the use of

opioids. All forms of malignancy can contribute to poor diagnosis, limited treatment of chronic
pain, and limited development of alternative pain therapies - all of which are detrimental to

patient care and the fight against the opioid epidemic (Cousins 73-74).

It has already been noted that through the process of assessing the factors that may

contribute to the emergence of an opioid epidemic, the tone of the national discourse often shifts

to accusation - whether of pharmaceuticals. Be it industry, different professional societies,

healthcare professionals or individuals. However, this tendency for legislators and law

enforcement to develop solutions in binary terms often reminds us of the complexity of both

chronic pain and opioid addiction.

Application for Chronic Pain Management In view of these achievements, effective and

meaningful policies and programs to deal with the opioid epidemic can be ensured, taking into

account the complexity of the population needs and unique needs of chronic pain patients. ‫ ۔‬Part

of this approach should include harm reduction methods to reduce the risks associated with

opioid use in these patients. These risks include, but are not limited to, changes in addiction,

over-medication and high doses for all populations of chronic pain patients who receive opioid

medication.

In response to the opioid epidemic, in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control issued a

series of guidelines for prescribing opium to reduce the supply of prescription opioids and over-

the-counter medications as much as possible. The recommendations in these guidelines are to

consider opioids only when the benefits outweigh the risks. Setting acceptable pain levels and

treatment sgoals for daily activities; and related recommendations for opioid selection, dosage,

duration and closure. However, the only harm reduction strategy for chronic pain management

found in the report states that physicians should prescribe naloxone with opioids if the patient
meets a series of risk factors. He said that some states have started strategies which are in line

with the reduction of losses.

Conclusion

The opioid epidemic has a complex history that has led many industries to strike a

balance between the proper and important treatment of pain against the misuse and abuse of

opioid drugs. The notion that opioids have been safe and effective for chronic pain over the past

decade has led to a significant reliance on opioids and a significant reduction in the number of

multidisciplinary pain centers across the United States that have been shown to be effective for

this condition. The reduction in remuneration for such multi-specialty centers further shifted the

management towards pharmacotherapy. Nevertheless, the current state of abusive abuse and

consequent fatal overdose affecting the United States is unacceptable and deserves a deep

response. There is a clear need to shift the focus from blaming the responsible parties to a

solution. To this end, government regulatory agencies and associations of specialized medical

professionals have issued a number of regulatory measures and social recommendations that

have combined to reduce the number of opioid prescriptions in recent years. There is a need for

concerted efforts by a number of sectors, including doctors, legislators, pharmaceutical

companies, academics and the general public, to ensure that the epidemic does not continue in

the future.
 References
Thorpe, Charles. "Science against modernism: the relevance of the social theory of Michael Polanyi." The
British journal of sociology 52.1 (2001): 19-35.

Hooker, Claire. "The medical humanities: a brief introduction." (2008).

Dowell, Deborah, Tamara M. Haegerich, and Roger Chou. "CDC guideline for prescribing opioids for
chronic pain—United States, 2016." Jama 315.15 (2016): 1624-1645.

Harvey, Nichole, and Colin A. Holmes. "Nominal group technique: an effective method for obtaining group
consensus." International journal of nursing practice 18.2 (2012): 188-194.

Cousins, Michael J., and Mary E. Lynch. "The Declaration Montreal: access to pain management is a
fundamental human right." Pain 152.12 (2011): 2673-2674.

Koob, George F., and Michel Le Moal. "Neurobiological mechanisms for opponent motivational processes
in addiction." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 363.1507
(2008): 3113-3123.