Each year, thousands of people in the United States die from opioid overdoses and millions more suffer from addiction to these substances. The opioid crisis has grown significantly over the past decade, and Americans are suffering the consequences. What are opioids and why is this crisis so pertinent? In addition, what can we do to mitigate this crisis and prevent overdose deaths before they occur?
What Are Opioids?
Opioids refer to a class of drugs that medical professionals use to relieve pain. There are multiple forms of opioids, both legally prescribed and illicit. Opioids can be highly addictive and often result in overdose, especially when combined with other drugs and alcohol.
- Doctors use prescription opioids to treat moderate to severe pain. However, these drugs can be highly addictive and come with dangerous risks and side effects. Common forms of prescription opioids include OxyContin, Vicodin, dilaudid, methadone, codeine, and morphine.
- Heroin is an illegal opioid used throughout the United States. This drug can be extremely dangerous and result in overdose death due to its highly addictive nature. People can inject, smoke, and snort heroin. Heroin overdose slows breathing and can easily result in death, especially when combined with other drugs and alcohol.
- Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous opioid that causes thousands of deaths every single year throughout the United States and the rest of the world. Fentanyl is also a medical, synthetic opioid. However, experts have linked thousands of deaths to illicit fentanyl, often mixed with other drugs such as heroin and cocaine. It only takes a small amount of fentanyl to cause overdose.
Opioid Overdose and Addiction Statistics
Millions of people suffer from opioid addiction and thousands die each year, with statistics significantly increasing annually. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention outlines the staggering opioid epidemic in their 2018 Annual Surveillance Report:
- In 2006, medical professionals wrote 72.4 opioid prescriptions per 100 people. In 2017, the rate decreased to 58.5 prescriptions per 100 people in 2017.
- In 2017, 17.4% of the United States population received at least one opioid prescription. The average patient received 3.4 prescriptions.
- In 2016, approximately 48.5 million Americans reported using illicit drugs. Only 2.2 million people sought help for drug abuse.
- In 2016, 11,824,000 people over age 12 reported that they misused opioids. Nine-hundred forty-eight thousand people misused heroin and 11,517,000 people misused prescription drugs.
- In 2015, approximately 78,840 hospitalizations occurred for non-fatal opioid overdoses.
- In 2016, 42,249 people died from opioid overdoses. Seventeen thousand eighty-seven people died from prescription opioid overdoses, 15,469 people died from heroin overdoses, and 19,413 people died from synthetic opioid overdoses.
The CDC also states that 68% of all the overdose deaths in 2017 involved an opioid and on average, 130 Americans die each day because of an opioid overdose. These statistics paint a clear and harrowing picture of just how widespread opioid addiction is.
Why Are Opioid Overdoses Increasing?
While these numbers are staggering, there are reasons why the opioid epidemic is growing in recent years. In fact, the opioid crisis is not new to the United States; between 1999 and 2017 alone, approximately 400,000 people died because of opioid overdose. Experts state that there are three waves to the opioid epidemic.
- The first opioid wave occurred when doctors began prescribing opioids at a high rate during the 1990s.
- The second opioid wave began in 2010 when the rate of heroin overdose suddenly and rapidly increased.
- The third and current opioid crisis wave began in 2013. This spike in overdose deaths is due in large part to the influx of synthetic opioids, namely fentanyl. Often, dealers mix these synthetic opioids with heroin, cocaine, and counterfeit pills. It only takes a small amount of these synthetic drugs, specifically fentanyl, to cause an overdose.
Signs and Symptoms of Opioid Addiction
The first step to stopping a potential opioid addiction is to recognize the signs of a problem and to seek professional treatment. If you or a loved one exhibits any of the following signs of an opioid addiction, seek professional treatment as soon as you can:
- Impaired judgment and engaging in risky, dangerous behaviors
- Sudden changes in sleep patterns
- Seeking multiple doctors to receive an opioid prescription
- Taking an opioid for longer than a doctor requires
- Taking more than the normal dose
- Taking the opioid for the feel, rather than pain relief
- Mood changes and irritability
- Elation and euphoria
- Confusion
- Slowed breathing
- Sedation and drowsiness
How Can We Fight the Opioid Epidemic?
The CDC outlines a few actions that the agency is taking to combat the opioid crisis, support state and community opioid responses, and reduce the amount of overdose deaths across the United States. Their work focuses on equipping state and local agencies with resources, improving data collection, and using evidence-based prevention strategies to help reduce overdose deaths.
Health care workers, communities, and bystanders can help fight the opioid crisis in America in a few ways.
- The CDC and other government agencies are encouraging health care providers to prescribe prescription opioids as a last resort for pain relief. They also encourage doctors to discuss the dangers and side effects of these drugs before prescribing them.
- Many local organizations are setting up safe injection sites and drug testing centers to detect the presence of dangerous synthetic opioids, specifically fentanyl. While a person should always seek help to end an opioid addiction, using safety is preferable to death by overdose.
- The CDC is collaborating with public safety officers and law enforcement to improve data collection about opioids and addressing growing overdose problems in a safe, effective manner.
- If you notice the symptoms of opioid addiction in a loved one or you are suffering from addiction, seek professional help as soon as possible. Addiction recovery centers can help people safely detox from opioid use and develop healthy coping mechanisms in order to achieve sobriety.
Seek Help for Opioid Addiction Today
If you or a loved one are struggling with an opioid addiction, help is available. Addiction treatment centers can help you safely detox from opioids, manage unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, and engage in holistic therapies to heal your mind and spirit as well as your body.
Are you looking for opioid treatment in Canyon Lake, Texas? Windmill Wellness Ranch is here for you. We offer holistic and comprehensive treatment programs to support your path to recovery. Contact us today to learn how to enroll at our treatment facility.