Health care providers and law enforcement agencies are more concerned about the adverse effects of opioids used for the treatment of chronic pain instead of focusing on their benefits. The enormity of the problem can be understood from the fact that in 2014 alone, 28,647 people died from opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Another point of concern is that the number of opioid overdose deaths in 2014 was nearly thrice of what it was in 2000. This indicates that the American government needs to devise stringent measures to curb the growing opioid epidemic.
Nerve block desensitizes particular area
The CDC has been advising doctors to prescribe non-opioid painkillers or other means of tackling pain wherever possible. Researchers are trying their best to come up with ways to fight back the addictive use of opioids. A recent finding may help doctors keep their patients off addictive opioids while still helping them get relief from excruciating pain.
Educationists at the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia (MTSA) have introduced a pathbreaking approach referred to as nerve blocks which refer to desensitizing a particular area instead of knocking out the patient completely unconscious. Nerve blocks are mostly linked to epidurals, though, improvement and modernization of technology have increased the commonality of its use.
Though the effectiveness of implementing the method of nerve blocks has been tested to curb pain, this method has not gained much popularity in the medical field while students are finding it increasingly difficult to practice the same. The fact that prescription drug abuse has reached its peak with abuse of prescription pharmaceuticals growing to be a major cause of concern has made it imperative for medical fraternities to consider nerve blocking option as a reliable alternative for treatment of pain.
Nerve blocking method can help curtail opioid use
Commenting on how this method can help combat the scourge of opioid abuse, Patrick Moss, who teaches acute pain management at the MTSA said, “We want to eliminate or potentially decrease the probability that the patient is going to be exposed to those opiates for the very first time. We want to do everything we can to make that patient happy. And I think sometimes that’s been unfortunately the inadvertent withholding of therapies such as what we’re teaching here at our institution.”
Despite several warnings and guidelines put forth by the CDC, doctors in America continue to prescribe opioids, some at a very high rate, leading to overdose and consequently addiction. Apart, leftover prescription medicines are abused by teens and young adults to get a high, thus, making them susceptible to addiction. Addiction to prescription opioids can increase the risk of abusing cheaper and easily available alternatives like heroin.
A recent study, titled “Prescription opioid use disorder and heroin use among 12-34 year-olds in the United States from 2002 to 2014” and published online in the journal Addictive Behaviors in September 2016, said the prescription opioid use by young adults has gone up by two times in the past one decade.
Scope of recovery from addiction
The opioid epidemic has devastated many American families. According to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), prescription drugs is now ranked among the most abused and most illegally traded drugs in the world.
If you or someone you know is addicted to prescription drugs, contact the Prescription Drug Abuse Helpline to find the best prescription drug abuse treatment centers in U.S.A. Call at our 24/7 helpline number 866-450-1557 or chat online with our addiction treatment experts to know more about the best prescription drug abuse treatment centers and take the first step towards a life of sobriety.