OxyContin and Opioid Epidemic\'s Start

OxyContin -- The Start of the Opioid Epidemic
Social Impact
Opioids are the class of drugs that involve an illegal drug named heroin. When over-prescription of OxyContin was observed, it was linked to the addiction to heroin. Purdue launched this drug in 1996 with extensive marketing for the primary care doctor who advised their patients for backaches and knee pain to use this drug (Ryan, 2016). It was even noticed that the effects of this best-selling pain killer wore off early in patients, and they wanted more pills when they want relief from pain. Purdue Pharma was pronounced as guilty in 2007 for misleading the federal government and the customers about the overuse of heroin in the name of OxyContin. It had been downplaying the risk of addiction that the drug caused and had to pay $365 million for compensation.
The overuse of heroin has been linked to death rates spiking between 2010 and 2015, and even the use of legal drugs was connected with seven out of the reports for death or injury (Dasgpta, Beletsky & Ciccaronne, 2018). This overuse's social determinants have casual connections with poor health, obesity, alcohol usage, depression, and chronic pain. The prominent factor in all these root causes seems to be social distress leading to suicides due to overuse. When the doctor frequently witnessed stress and pain, they kept prescribing pain killers like OxyContin based on the number of times pain occurred, dosing schedules, medication potency, and other related factors. Moreover, structured access to US healthcare for the Whites did not show high usage of opioids while Blacks stayed disadvantaged as they could not have proper access to quality healthcare and were left with prescriptions of pain killers like OxyContin. The social impact was seen deteriorating, requiring urgent intervention for eliminating opioid use disorder with the corrected medications of Methadone and Buprenorphine for rapid improvements. In this context, health care providers must focus on bettering patients' suffering with compassion and without discrimination rather than reducing pain with the overuse of OxyContin or opioids.
Treatment and Outcome
As mentioned earlier, Methadone and Buprenorphine are suitable for reducing the effects of opioids or addictive heroin. A study revealed that people dependent on opioids are highly addicted to it and have a higher craving for it than alcohol (Kadam et al., 2017). Opioid use disorder is a relapsing and chronic ailment that is hard for the affected ones to get rid of. It manipulates the brain and plays with the body when a person cannot concentrate on everyday activities, in school or at home. It causes the healthy maintenance of relationships that can also lead to overdose and death.
The relapse prevention strategies should encompass increased family support and tackle of expressed emotions of the affected ones. When recovery plans are devised, people should make sure that an understanding healthcare provider and advisor should be contacted for this purpose. The recovery and treatment plan would include medications like methadone and buprenorphine. Methadone is available in liquid form that can be taken daily (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.a.). However, it should be noted that it can be taken in a certain opioid treatment program that is certified. Moreover, buprenorphine is a dissolving tablet available for a 6-month implant underneath the skin or cheek film form. It should be noted for this tablet that it is only for outside clinic use.
Public health education is essential when recovery is required. The opioid drug addicts should consult the doctor for managing pain in other effective ways to know their prescription and what potency and dosage pattern should be adopted. The government should allow awareness campaigns within the hospitals and social media and provide contact numbers for those who need help. They can instantly contact healthcare providers for better treatment that should incorporate cognitive behavioral therapy.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.a.). Rx awareness: Recovery is possible. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/rxawareness/treatment/index.html
Dasgpta, N., Beletsky, L. & Ciccaronne, D. (2018). Opioid crisis: No easy fix to its social and economic determinants. American Journal of Public Health, 108(2), 182-186. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304187
Kadam, M., Sinha, A., Nimkar, S., Matcheswalla, Y. & De Sousa, A. (2017). A comparative study of factors associated with relapse in alcohol dependence and opioid dependence. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 39(5), 627-633. DOI: 10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_356_17
Ryan, H. (2016, May 27). Senator calls for investigation of Purdue Pharma following Times story on OxyContin. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-oxycontin-full-coverage/