Opioid-based drugs are derived from morphine or are synthetically created to mimic its properties. Heroin has no medicinal purposes and opioid painkillers are available only by prescription. If you or anyone in your home is prescribed opioid medication, your loved one has access to these drugs. They are a very commonly prescribed medication and are in the medicine cabinets of many homes. However, you need to be very careful when you these drugs to avoid opioid addiction, which is so possible to occur.

Prescribed to ease chronic or acute pain, they are highly effective, but it is easy to build a tolerance to them, requiring more and more of the drug to achieve the original high it provides. Most conumers swallow the pills, but they can abuse them by first crushing them before swallowing or snorting the drug, a practice which intensifies their effect. When under the influence, your loved one may seem overly relaxed and even sleepy or out of it. When addicted, they may become extremely irritable, anxious, and unusually aggressive when they are without their pills.

There are a number of commonly prescribed opioid medications that you can look out for. If you find pills among your family member’s possessions and are unsure of their origin, you should know the names of certain opioid-based drugs that are dangerous and addictive.

Aside from the obvious dangers, there are a number of negative physical effects related to opioid use and abuse. The ability to function is inhibited by the use of painkillers, for example, as are control of motor skills and good judgment. Opioids cause respiratory depression and it is easy to take too many, experience respiratory failure and slip into a coma that can ultimately turn fatal. Mixing opioid drugs with alcohol or other depressants increases the chance of both addiction and death.

It is every family’s nightmare facing opioid abuse. Loved ones do not want to believe that their husband or wife is going to abuse drugs or is having a problem with opioid abuse. Opioid addiction is another family’s problem. This is not true. Drugs are everywhere, so mothers, fathers, husbands and wives need to be savvy and look for the warning signs. Don’t assume that the problem is going to pass you by because you are the right kind of family. Opioid addiction is something that can affect any member of a family and must be addressed.

Addiction to opioid- can result from the abuse of legitimate prescriptions, the illegal purchase of the medication, sharing prescriptions with acquaintances or purposefully combining them with other medication or alcohol.

The signs of spotting such an addict include being secretive and guarded, money shortage or refusing to disclose spending habits and losing interest in maitnining their looks and physique. The good news is that opioid addiction in adults can be treated. By focusing on the causes, finding pain management alternatives and helping your loved one to focus on the changes that they can make in their behavior, opioid addicts can lead to successful recovery.