Lina Mohamed-Assignment 7
Lina Mohamed
MHC Writing Assignment 7 Professor Kowach
How do pills Affect our bodies?
Overdosing on prescription drugs and misusing them is a big issue that needs to be addressed. There are so many dangers to poly-drug use. People assume that poly-drug use is not going to occur as long as they steer clear of alcohol while taking certain drugs, painkillers. However, poly-drug effects can happen by simply taking more than one prescription medication for recreational purposes. 2
Mixing opiates and benzodiazepines (benzos) can lead to some serious symptoms and continued misuse and mixing of drugs can lead to internal damage in our bodies. Pills can damage our lungs, stomach, intestines, liver, muscles and kidneys.
Lungs are affected because these drugs suppress the body’s ability to breathe and therefore is associated with a risk of pneumonia. Drug abusers will also experience shortness of breath. Opiates also cause constipation at a normal dosage so overdosing will cause serious problems. Addicts usually end up relying on laxatives to move the bowels or other risk damages. This is a symptom called NBS or “narcotic bowel syndrome”.
The liver is probably one of the most affected organs because pills are broken down and processed by the liver. Therefore, overdosing or taking lots of pills stresses the liver heavily and ends up carrying many toxins from the breakdown process. This is mainly due to the acetaminophen that is many formulas of these drugs. High levels of acetaminophen can cause liver failure in severe cases. 50,000 people are rushed to emergency rooms each year and about 200 die. 3
Abuse of painkillers and exceeding combination suggestions can also have a damaging effect on the kidneys. Severely overdosing can even lead to transplants or dialysis. However, opiate does not cause disable the kidney, it is the secondary analgesics found in acetaminophen. 3
These effects are caused from taking pills and the effects of snorting or injecting these drugs are even worse. People are still not as scared as they should be or just do not fully understand the dangers because it is not advertised enough. There can be simple changes made to reduce the number of overdosing amongst certain groups of people. There are certain groups that misuse pills more than other groups. Health insurers can identify and address improper prescribing and use of painkillers. They can also increase coverage for other treatments to reduce pain, such as physical therapy and other homeopathic remedies.
Figure 1: Shows which states have higher overdose rates illustrated by darker colors (CDC).
References:
1-Deepak, C., M.D. (2002) Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide (2nd Edition) Retrieved from Google Scholars: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OyrhatOdk9gC&oi=fnd&pg=PA270&dq=natural+alternatives+to+painkillers&ots=68fhOAE58y&sig=-malo2jqTO8ylS5N_CVlAN-PFSo#v=onepage&q=natural%20alternatives%20to%20painkillers&f=false
2-(2002) Dangers of Mixing Opiates and Benzodiazepines: Vicodin, Xanax, Oxycodone and Valium. American Addiction Centers. Retrieved from:
http://americanaddictioncenters.org/prescription-drugs/dangers-of-mixing/
3- What Parts of the Body May Be Severely Damaged by Painkiller Abuse? Narconon. Retreived from:
http://www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/prescription/painkillers/body-damage.html
4-Unknown. (2013, n. pg.) Politicization of Health Care Preventing Real Changes to Out-Of-Control System, Researchers Suggest. John Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved from Google Scholar:
5–(Ullman, 1988) Homeopathy Medicine For The 21st Century. The Futurist. Retrieved from:
