Should patients who have known IV addictions be offered a PICC line or similar in order to reduce their risks of infections, blood clots, scarring, circulatory damage/ impairment, injecting into arteries or damaging nerves in the surrounding structures, or should these types of device be avoided in order to reduce the temptation the other associated risks of having a VAD in place for any length of time? This is the topic of todays blog post and we want to know what you think!
Tag Archives: Opiates
Heroin Overdose Deaths Often Happen Shortly After Leaving Hospital According To New Cutting Edge Research
Drug-related deaths are four times more likely to occur in the days after hospital discharge than at any other time among users of opioids such as heroin according to research led by University College London, Public Health England and King’s College London.
Why Wouldn’t You Want To Save A Life?
Naloxone AKA Narcan is a medicine used in emergency situations where there is a suspicion that opioids have been taken and/or overdosed on.
This emergency medication reverses the devastating effects of an opioid overdose by blocking the opioid receptors in the brain. This is why it is called an opioid antagonist. It also prevents the person from overdosing again for a short while after it’s been initially administered.
Find out all you need to know about Naloxone in this article.
Needing More And More? Is Your Body Developing A Tolerance To Drugs, Alcohol Or Medications?
A tolerance to a substance occurs when the body gets used to a substance (drugs, alcohol or medication) so that more of the same substance is needed to give the desired effect that was once received initially from smaller amounts.
There are several mechanisms behind tolerance, including changes in the metabolism of a drug, cellular changes or behavioural/psychological effects. Tolerance is not always negative, and people may develop a tolerance to the side effects of a drug over time as well.
We look at these issues and many others in this article. This is one not to miss if you think that you or someone else you know may have developed a tolerance to medications or substances.
Study: Doctors Are Pressurised To Prescribe Opioid Based Medications When Asked Much Later In The Day
The authors of a recent study on opioid use and found another startling factor that might be adding to the ever increasing opioid crisis: the increasing rate of opioid prescribing.
Hannah Neprash, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota and Michael Barnett, an internal medicine specialist practicing in multiple hospitals around Boston, found that physicians are more likely to prescribe opioids as their shift progresses and appointments fall behind schedule when Doctors are to talk to the patient, assess or examine them and refer them to other specialties or prescribe medications in a 10-15 minute window.
Check out the surprising results from this highly illuminating study on this increasing, worldwide issue that’s adding more pressure on the current opioid crisis in developed nations.
Addiction and Personal Responsibility: Who’s Problem Is It?
The definition of personal responsibility is the idea that human beings choose, instigate or otherwise cause their own actions. A corollary idea is that because we cause our actions, we can be held morally accountable or legally liable.
There are also various types of responsibility. Some are obvious types and others that are more subtle to identify.
In this article, we look at the various models and common arguments for both sides of the “argument” that are used to understand the role accountability and responsibility plays in active using or drinking, those in recovery and the family and friends of those afflicted by addictions.
Managing Wound Care & Chronic Complications Associated With Sustained Injecting
This article contains images, videos and other media that shows real-life wounds, abscesses, ulcers and amputations associated with injecting throughout. Not for those with a nervous disposition to wounds and graphic media.
It has been reported that one third of substance users will develop an injection-related abscesses, sores or open wounds within a one-year period at minimum.
Education about substance use, skin issues and wound care is an important part of helping not only the user but also the health care professionals that are encountering this consequence of injecting more and more often.
Discover the warning signs when wounds develop and when more professional help may be needed.
The Use And Misuse Of Prescribed Opioids And The Risk Of Subsequent Addiction
Opioids & opiates are supposed to be a short term solution for moderate to severe pain. However, so many people are on them for so long, that they have become physically and psychologically dependent on them, firstly because they enjoy the way they make them feel and secondly, to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Unfortunately, the ever increasing epidemic of opioid addiction is ravaging nations around the world, killing people unnecessarily, for a health condition that is treatable!
Find out all you need to know about opioids, addiction, pregnancy, overdoses, death withdrawal symptoms and treatment options and much more!…
The Sting That Soothes: How Animal Venom’s Could Be Used To Treat Addiction And Provide An Addiction Free Painkiller
Perhaps we could use scorpion venom to provide a strong opioid-like painkiller that is free from the risk of addiction? Maybe we could use spider venom to create a cure or treatment for addiction? Or could we even use jellyfish venom to help heal damage done to our bodies through chronic drug or alcohol use? All the information you need is inside this article!
How Addicts Justify Their Using/Drinking Behaviour To Themselves And Others & The Top 20 Most Common Lies They Use
Do you want to look like this? These addicts thought they were just like everyone else, carry on reading to find out why.
Addicts are a perfect example of people who put a great deal of effort into justifying their unreasonable behaviours. They want other people to view them as rational because this is how they view themselves and receiving this “approval” from someone else lets them know that their behaviour is acceptable and without and form of negative label being attached to them such as being weak willed, ashamed, embarrassed, frustrated or even hate in some cases.
Find out 20 of the most commonly used excuses and lies used by addicts and the psychology behind this and the consequences that addiction causes, not only on the addict, but those directly and indirectly around them too.
Drink ‘n’ Drugs 