The structure of Acetaminophen is found in Fig 1.1. When taken as recommended, there are rarely side effects from Acetaminophen, but when used in large doses, long-term use, or with alcohol, serious side effects may occur. According to www.onlinelawyersource.com, “… it is estimated that acetaminophen poisoning results in 56,000 injuries, 25,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths every year.” One of the reasons Acetaminophen over doses are an issue is because the drug is considered “safe”, so people don’t pay too much attention to the amount they intake in one day. Then there’s the problem for people who do keep track of their daily intake of the pain reliever because what many of them don’t know is that Acetaminophen is used in other drugs besides Tylenol. “Acetaminophen… is contained in almost 100 different products and combination products,” writes Carol and Richard Eustice.
Background Approximately 15,000 people die each year by overdosing on opioids, a rate that has more than tripled since 1990 (Wermeling, 2012). The annual incidence of opioid over dose associated mortality on a nationwide scale has been difficult to assess due to incomplete reporting systems (Leavitt, S.2010) as well as more than half of over doses go unreported for fears of repercussions (kuehn,2014). In Massachusetts these over doses have killed more than car crashes each year since 2005 (Wermeling, 2012). The government had tried numerous strategies to reduce the death toll, including imposing stricter regulations on prescribing medications, prosecuting owners of “pill mills” who dispense the drugs without proper medical evaluation, and tracking data bases to monitor and discourage “doctor shopping” among addicts (Szalvitz,2013). Addiction often begins with a legitimate opioid
Chris Clavell Writing Studies Geoff Bender Thefreedictionary.com defines prescription drugs as a drug that is available only with written instructions from a doctor or dentist to a pharmacist (“Prescription”). Prescription drugs are usually stronger than over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and have a better chance of curing certain conditions than OTCs. The instructions given by doctors are to be followed strictly or side-effects may occur. But what happens when patients only seek the help of drugs for the narcotic side-effects? The addiction for “prescription” drugs is as strong as classic street drugs such as heroin or cocaine.
People who are clinically depressed cannot “will” themselves to feel better or just “snap out of it.” It takes a combination of prescribed medication, Natural remedies, and psychological help to fully treat Depression. One in every three people who are depressed actually seek treatment and 80-90 percent of those who seek treatment feel better within a few weeks. If you do not receive treatment, symptoms can continue for months or even years. I am going to inform you of the different types of Treatment for Depression. Many people choose Antidepressant medication as a treatment because that is the first thing their doctors suggest.
However, Purdue Pharma still denies OxyContin to be addictive. Its introduction has been a great economic success for Purdue Pharma and now accounts for eighty percent of the company’s total business (Goode and Inciardi 2). Because it has become popular with drug abusers, OxyContin has received a lot of unwanted attention by the media. As of March 1, 2007, prescription drug abuse will exceed other forms of illegal narcotics used worldwide (Kole 1). The pharmaceutical drug OxyContin is developed to be a very potent pain reliever used by patients with chronic illnesses, although, many users have developed extreme problems caused by the drug’s highly addictive nature.
Chinese native physicians have been using the drug Ma-Huang for more than 5000 years”(Ellinwood 1). The drug has even affected pop culture and the desire to be thin whether or not they were harming themselves. “The trend towards extreme thinness that emerged in the 1960s began with fashion models, but soon made unrealistic body weight the norm. Many women and girls found that taking drugs such as amphetamines would result in rapid weight loss”(Landau 13). Sadly, even the American government used to allow use of this drug in times of war and now for medical use.
Some researchers suggest that caffeine may even prevent diseases such as type II Diabetes and Parkinson’s, although on the other hand, studies show that caffeine worsens diabetes in those who already have the disease. The ongoing research about the drug is crucial for determining why caffeine acts the way it does. It is a proven fact that many times a person may have to use more of the drug to feel the effects due to developing a high tolerance. Physical dependence can take place in days, and some symptoms of withdrawal include drowsiness and headache. The writer states that taking too much caffeine can cause one to experience jitteriness, sleepiness, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems.
Prescription drugs are just as addictive as illegal drugs and are easier to acquire. The only difference is that if you have health insurance, you are only paying a co-payment for your medication and not the street price for it. The more you use a prescription drug the more of a tolerance your body builds up to it, thus leading to an increase in dosage and a possible addiction. There are many prescription drugs available today and some classes of drugs are more abused than others such as opioids, central nervous systems depressants, and stimulants. Let us look deeper into these prescription drug classes along with who is at higher risk than others and possible ways to treat and prevent addiction.
Much to contrary belief meth users do suffer from withdraws as well as any other addict would. The severity and length of the symptoms vary with the amount of damage done to the body through amphetamine use. The most common systems are irritability, loss of energy, depression, difficulty in sleeping and shaking of the hands or other body parts. These symptons can last for several days up to weeks after the user stops taking the drug. The more of the drug that comes into the body, the more the chemistry is suppressed.
Additionally, because many medications have similar names illegible handwriting can cause the wrong medication to be dispensed; this type of error can also occur when prescriptions are given verbally since many medication names sound similar. Medication errors can also occur when the prescribed medication is contraindicated due to a patient’s other health conditions including allergies or other medications the patient is currently taking (Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy). Prevention Preventing medication errors is crucial to patient safety. Computerized physician order entry is a key technology in the prevention of medication errors. Through the use of this technology prescribers enter the prescription into the computerized patient chart.