Prescription Opioids vs Heroin Infographic

Since 1999, the number of people dying from heroin and prescription opioid addiction pain relief overdoses has increased dramatically. The federal and state governments have joined forces to contain the outbreak. The White House issued an interagency plan for dealing with Reacting to opioid addiction Crisis in 2010. To achieve these goals, federal organizations have cooperated with States to educate prescription drug providers, the drug administered, patients, parents and youth about the importance of proper prescription, distribution, use and disposal. Monitoring programmes for economic prescription drugs.

In states with the most stringent strategies, there has been a reduction in the supply of authorization opioid medications with a decrease in excessive deaths in some world regions. However, heroin-related overdose deaths have been on the rise since 2008. In 2016, 10 566 excessive-dose heroin deaths were reported by the Institution of Disease Control and Prevention, and the death rate for heroin rose five-fold between 2004 and 2014.

The Health and Human Services Secretary announced in March 2015 the  Assistant Opioid Addiction Plan Initiative Plan, which aims to reduce the risk of opioid addiction and death associated with opioid addiction by reducing prescription opioids and heroin diversion in.

• Inflating access to the excessive dose-reversing medication naloxone
• Reforming opioid prescribing patterns
• Growing the availability of medication-assisted care for opioid addiction

In the United States, the connection between prescription opioid addiction and rising heroin usage is being investigated. These drugs are all classified as opioids and have significant similarities. 

According to The Research that Is Currently Available:

• Prescription opioid addiction is related to heroin addiction.
• Prescription drug users seldom use heroin.
• Prescription opioid addiction and heroin have similar effects, but the risks are different.
• A small percentage of people who misuse prescription opioid addiction go on to use heroin.
• Excessiveopioid addiction and supply is linked to increased drug use and overdose.
• The low cost and comprehensive supply of heroin fuel its use.
• Both prevention and recovery must be prioritized.

What are Opioids And Opioid Addiction?

Opioids are drugs from the opium-population plant. Opioids are drugs. Some prescription opioids are produced on-site, while others are made in the same chemical structure in laboratories. Opioids are often used as pain relievers because they contain substances that relax the body. Prescription Opioids are often used to treat mild to severe pain but may also be used in some cases for the treatment of coughing and diarrhea.

Opioids are pain relievers that can cause relaxation and euphoria throughout the brain. Unfortunately, they can also be improperly administered, and MIS implemented. Prescription opioid addiction increases the risk and may result in overdose of the developing opioid use disorder (OUD). The long-term opioid addiction of high-dose opioids increases the risk of developing OUD. Physical tolerance can develop already two days after continuing application.

Opioids are extremely dangerous. High doses may lead to an end to breathing and death for people. The leading cause of death in people under 50 years of age still lies in drug overdose in the United States, with opioid addiction deaths quadrupling since 1999.

In Illinois, 1,946 people died from drug overdoses in 2016, up 82 percent from 2013.

• More than 1.5 times the people part of murders
• 2x more significant than the of people killed in car accidents
• About 30% greater than the total number of shot by gun deaths (including suicides, homicides and misshaped shootings)

The alarming increase in opioid addiction excessive use causes thousands of deaths in recent years, and this rate can be attributed to the explosion of threatening synthetic opioids and one such example is fentanyl, Prescribed opioids can be some more hundred times more toxic and dangerous than heroin as they are considered as addictive at extreme levels. For the same reason, fentanyl is mixed with some other narcotics like heroin for enhancing their effects that can quickly transform into a toxic mixture, Among 2012 and 2015, the number of human-made opioid-related overdose deaths in Illinois increased tenfold.

Correlation Between Prescription Opioid Addiction and Heroin Misuse, as Described by an Addiction Specialist

In February, the federal government announced that it would look for more than $2.1 billion in funding to combat the growing pandemic of opioid painkiller abuse. Prescription opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine, are abused or misused by more than 2 million people in the United States today. Overdoses from these types of medicine killed an estimated 18,000 people in the United States in 2014, more than three times the number in 1980.

Infographic on Heroin vs. Prescription Opioids

1. Heroin: Prescription medication is made from morphine, a natural material obtained from the Asian opium poppy plant’s seed shell. 4.8 million people have used heroin at some stage in their lives.
2. Prescription Opioids: Pain relievers of a similar origin to heroin. Opioids can induce euphoria and are often misused, resulting in overdose deaths.

In the year 2019, 4.5 million people used pain relievers for non-medical reasons.

Facts on Mental Illness and Opioid Addiction

Individuals with two or more co-occurring illnesses can feel powerless in the face of their conditions. Some of them are hindering, making a person feel frail, lonely, and vulnerable. Others may cause hallucinations and delusions that appear to be accurate. In addition to the data discussed above, epidemiological evidence indicates that drugs, alcohol, and mental illness are all linked:

• Alcohol consumption is expected to be 68 percent over a lifetime, while opioid addictionuse is estimated to be 30 percent.
• Nearly one-third of people with reported mental illnesses have struggled with drug abuse.
• 36.6% of persons with alcohol addiction disorders and 53.1% of persons with medical abuse disorders were psychiatric diseases. 
• Nearly 20% of the 9.9% of the population who had experienced significant lifelong depression also had a co-occurring opioid addiction.
• Five times as often as patients with bipolar disorder have drug or alcohol abuse, whereas schizophrenic patients are four times more likely.
• Depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are common mental health conditions associated with opioid addiction.

Diagnosis and Evaluation For Opioid Addiction

Due to the co-occurrence of the conditions, evaluating and handling an addiction illness can be particularly difficult. Substance abuse and mental illness are often associated with one another, but they may also occur independently in some situations. Determining which disease is the cause of the other can be difficult and time-consuming.

After a time of detoxification for opioid addiction, doctors are more likely to diagnose a patient with one of the forms mentioned above of substance-related comorbidity. Many drug use problems have signs that fade quickly until the substance is stopped, making a correct diagnosis easier. So, what’s next? How do doctors know how to diagnose a mental health condition after drug abuse has stopped? To help psychologists, clinicians, and medical practitioners better regulate what conditions are present within a person, some illness-specific models have been developed.

Together with detoxification from opioid addiction, these focused tests can help a doctor evaluate mental disorders or disorders in a patient with drug abuse problems. Although it is not always likely to have a 100% correct diagnosis, the aim is to achieve the best possible diagnosis.

So, How Can We Tackle These Two Intertwined Epidemics?

Through implementing more prescription-monitoring services and improving abuse-resistant painkillers. However, public education and skilled preparation are our most powerful tools. The new CDC recommendations on opioid addiction and the White House’s participation in the fight against opioid dependency are significant modifications. Addiction is the most critical community health threat in America and the UK regarding generality, comorbidity, mortality, and social cost. Just a small percentage of physicians are adequately trained in opioid prevention and treatment. At NYU Langone, He says that I’m assured to say that dependency psychiatry is one of our specialties, and we provide fellowship training in the field. Hospitals have only recently begun to screen patients for opioid addiction daily and assist them in seeking adequate care. This policy will help to alter the behaviour, but it will take some time.

Pain comfort Prescription opioids are usually safe when used as directed by a doctor for a brief period, but they may be misused. Prescription opioids are exploited in the following ways:

• Taking the drug in a different form or dosage than recommended
• Taking anyone else’s prescription drug 
• Taking the drug for the outcome, it produces—getting high

An individual can swallow a prescription opioid in its usual form when misusing it. Crushing pills or opening tablets, dissolving the substance in water, and putting the liquid into a vein is common. Some people snort the powder as well. Heroin and Opioid Addiction, if left untreated, can lead to a slew of problems for the person. And when treated, victims may have more severe symptoms, poor social performance, and more excellent rates of physical conditions of comorbid like liver disease, kidney disorders, as well as suicidal thoughts.

According to Biomed Central Psychiatry, suchopioid addiction have historically been classified as two different disorders, with one being treated after another. Recent research shows that combined therapy, rather than concurrent or simultaneous treatment, is the preferred form of Dual Diagnosis treatment. Unfortunately, such opioid addiction individuals continue to face challenges in recovery due to insufficient or inaccessible services, longer diagnosis times, and lower treatment enforcement.

So, Together with detoxification from opioid addiction, these focused tests can help a doctor evaluate mental disorders or disorders in a patient with drug abuse problems. Although it is not always likely to have a 100% correct diagnosis, the aim is to achieve the best possible diagnosis for opioid addiction.