Although anti-OD meds are available, many addicts hold misguided views on what to do
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Oct. 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Although teens and young adults who abuse prescription painkillers face a high risk of overdose, most don't know how to respond when one occurs, new research shows.
At issue is the increasingly popular, non-medicinal use of legal prescription narcotic pain medications, including so-called "opioids" such as Oxycontin and Vicodin.
Such drugs can substantially slow or even halt the ability to breath, sometimes leading to death. And while safe and effective interventions are available (including the prescription medication naloxone), the new study found that most narcotic abusers are unaware of their options.
"What we found is that when it comes to how to handle an overdose, prescription opioid users who weren't using drugs for official medical reasons were less savvy than, say, more traditional heroin-using populations," said study author David Frank, a doctoral candidate in the department of sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City.
"In fact, they tend to have a pretty severe lack of knowledge and a lot of confusion about it, despite the fact that most have experienced overdoses within their drug-using network," said Frank.
Why?
"We found that prescription opioid [users] make a big distinction between themselves and heroin users," Frank said. "Opioid users tend to be whiter, younger and come from a higher socioeconomic background. And even though opiates and heroin are pharmacologically similar, work by the same mechanism and can both cause an overdose, even daily opioid users seem to think that simply because they're taking a doctor-prescribed medicine they're not doing a dangerous drug."
An expert at the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) agreed. "Stigma lies at the heart of the problems highlighted in this article," said Jack Stein, director of the office of science policy and communications at the NIDA.
"Societal stigma against heroin abuse and associated ignorance about heroin addiction has prevented those who become addicted to prescription opioids from recognizing their abuse as similar to, and equally dangerous as, heroin abuse," Stein said.
"Thus, information about safety and overdose prevention and available treatments, including naloxone and buprenorphine, fail to reach this new opioid-addicted demographic," Stein explained. "This same stigma has prevented health care providers from recognizing the signs of prescription opioid abuse or knowing how to manage addiction in their patients who may not fit the expected profile or stereotype of a drug abuser."
NIDA estimates from 2010 suggest that in excess of 5 million Americans now abuse prescription pain medication, with roughly one in 12 high school seniors abusing the narcotic Vicodin, and one in 20 abusing Oxycontin.
To gauge the level of overdose knowledge among prescription painkiller abusers, the study authors conducted in-depth interviews among 46 users aged 18 to 32. All were residents of New York City, where the number of opioid-related overdose deaths tripled between 2000 and 2011, according to background information in the study.
source : Most Who Abuse Painkillers Are Unprepared If Overdose Strikes: Study
