Article Sphere Logo
"Addictions" Article
 Article Directory Home All Categories Disease And Conditions Addictions

Hydrocodone Addiction - A Rising Crisis

By Expert Author: Jack Smith | View Article Summary
Word Count: 402 words | Views: 528 view(s)
Jack Smith

Commonly prescribed for its effectiveness as an analgesic or pain reliever, addiction to hydrocodone is today being viewed as a mounting crisis. While addiction to illicit drugs, like cocaine, marijuana and heroin that claim national headlines ever so often, is widely talked about, we scarcely know about hydrocodone abuse and addiction. For instance, did you know that hydrocodone is perhaps the most widely abused prescription drug in the United States of America? Or, that nationwide its use has quadrupled over the last decade?

Sales and production of hydrocodone have been rising significantly in the past few years. Presently, in the United States alone about 20 tons of hydrocodone products are manufactured and sold.

What is Hydrocodone?
Simply put, hydrocodone is an effective anti-cough agent. It is also an opiate, due to which it is of often prescribed for mild to moderate pain control. Often weighed against morphine for its pain control abilities, many studies have shown that when hydrocodone is taken within the prescription parameters, it is considered safe and seldom causes any addiction. In fact, under these conditions it can be used to mange pain quite successfully. Hydrocodone is sold under several brand names such as Anexsia, Hycodan, Hycomine, Lorcet, Lortab, Tussionex, Tylox, Vicodin, and Vicoprofen. It is available as tablets, capsules, and/or syrups. By and large, it is abused orally rather than by intravenous administration.

Why is Hydrocodone addictive?
Narcotics like hydrocodone act by attaching themselves to particular proteins called opioid receptors. When they attach themselves to receptors in the brain, spinal cord and gastrointestinal tract, they have the ability to alter the manner in which a person feels pain. Drugs such as hydrocodone also have the ability to affect parts of the brain that control sensory perceptions such as pleasure, which results in the initial feeling of euphoria that is produced.

Persistent use of opioids leads to the body's increasing tolerance towards such medication. Thus higher doses have to be taken to achieve the same initial effect. Continuing use can also lead to physical addiction. Persons undergoing treatment using such drugs should be medically supervised during administration as well as appropriately overseen when discontinuing medication to avoid and reduce withdrawal symptoms associated with this drug.

Side Effects of Hydrocodone
There are many side-effects of hydrocodone. These include, but are not limited to, allergic reactions, such as hives, constipation, decreased mental and physical performance, lowered sex drive, breathing problems, dizziness, seizures and many more.
About the Author/Author Bio

Jack Smith writes about various Addiction topics. This article is free to re-print as long as nothing is changed, all links remained intacked, the bio remains in full and the rel="nofollow" tag is not added to any of the links. Thank-you. Self Improvment - Addiction

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Hydrocodone-Addiction---A-Rising-Crisis/5948

Article Tags: disease and illness, addictions, drug addiction, prescription drugs, heroin, meth, marijuana, cocaine, crack, hydrocodone, smoking addiction, addiction rehabs

Article Submitted: 2006-01-06 | This Article has been viewed 528 times.

Comments on this Article


More "Addictions" Related Articles

 
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Addictions" article category.

People interested in the above article "Hydrocodone Addiction - A Rising Crisis" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

 
A Breathalyzer is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC) from a breath sample. Law enforcement officers often use breathalyzers to test the level of alcohol concentration in a person’s blood. This is an effective tool to detect people driving under the influence. Using breathalyzers helps people to get instant results of Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) at coherent accuracy rate.
It is an understood fact that fighting an addiction is not an easy job. In majority of the cases people suffering from drug abuse, drug addiction, eating disorder and even mental illness suffer from the symptom of denial. However there are organizations that can help you in coming to terms with your addiction.
The modern day lifestyle is putting tremendous stress on the world population at large. The hunger to reach the zenith of financial prowess and status along with physical magnificence is making people do things that have grave repercussions on their physical, mental and emotional health.
In the earlier times the addiction to drugs, substances, chemicals and alcohol was quite unheard of. In fact it was considered to be the disease of the rich and the famous. Only celebrities and big personalities were prone to various kinds of addictions.
The process of rehabilitation can be very difficult, especially if you have been on drugs for quite a while. There will be several instances when you will feel the need to take whatever substance it is you have been feeding your body. During these times, it is important to be strong by turning away from those temptations. Regardless of how long you have been using drugs, you can always stop and rebuild your life. Here are some of the things you can do to break away from drug addiction and restart your life.
You did not become a drug addict overnight. It was a long process occurring over a period of, perhaps, several years that turned into a dependence on those drugs. You began using probably primarily because you needed an escape. It's very important that you remove anything in your life that could cause you to begin using again.
Drug detox is the most important part of becoming free from addiction, and because of this drug detox should be handled with great care. Drug detox is a medical procedure. Drug detox should be handled in a medical facility under great supervision.The reason for this is because drug detox can be fatal. What happens to the body when one becomes addicted is a chemical change, and to take this chemical away from the body all at once without proper care from the drug detox can turn from a positive process to a fatal one.
 
Article Directory Home All Categories Disease And Conditions Addictions
 

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
 
 
(We serve worldwide - Locations updated as at Sunday, 05 July 2009 07:35 am , Singapore)
United States of America, USA . United Kingdom, UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) . Canada . Afghanistan . Albania . Algeria . American Samoa . Andorra . Angola . Anguilla . Antarctica . Antigua & Barbuda . Argentina . Armenia . Aruba . Australia . Austria . Azerbaijan . Bahamas . Bahrain . Bangladesh . Barbados . Belarus . Belgium . Belize . Benin . Bermuda . Bhutan . Bolivia . Bonaire . Bosnia-Herzegovina . Botswana . Brazil . British Virgin Islands . Brunei Darrusalam . Bulgaria . Burkina Faso . Burundi . Cambodia . Cameroon . Cape Verde . Cayman Islands . Central African Republic . Chad . Channel Islands . Chile . China . Christmas Island . Colombia . Comoros . Congo . Congo (Dem. Rep.) . Cook Islands . Costa Rica . Cote d'Ivoire . Croatia . Cuba . Curacao . Cyprus . Czech Republic . Denmark . Djibouti . Dominica . Dominican Republic . East Timor . Ecuador . Egypt . El Salvador . Equatorial Guinea . Eritrea . Estonia . Ethiopia . Falkland Islands and Dependencies . Faroe Islands . Fiji . Finland . France . French Guiana . French Polynesia . Gabon . Gambia . Gaza . Georgia . Germany . Ghana . Gibraltar . Greece . Greenland . Grenada . Guadeloupe . Guam . Guatemala . Guinea . Guinea-Bissau . Guyana . Haiti . Hawaiian Islands . Honduras . Hong Kong . Hungary . Iceland . India . Indonesia . Iran . Iraq . Isle Of Man . Israel . Italy . Ivory Coast . Jamaica . Japan . Johnston Atoll . Jordan . Kazakhstan . Kenya . Kiribati . Korea (North) . Korea (South) . Kuwait . Kyrgyzstan . Laos . Latvia . Lebanon . Leeward Islands . Lesotho . Liberia . Libya . Liechtenstein . Lithuania . Luxembourg . Macau . Macedonia . Madagascar . Malawi . Malaysia . Maldives . Mali . Malta . Marshall Islands . Martinique . Mauritania . Mauritius . Mexico . Micronesia (Federated States) . Midway Islands . Moldova . Monaco . Mongolia . Montserrat . Morocco . Mosquito Coast . Mozambique . Myanmar (Burma) . Namibia . Nauru . Navassa Island . Nepal . Netherlands . Netherlands Antilles . New Caledonia . New Zealand . Nicaragua . Niger . Nigeria . Niue . Norfolk Island . Northern Mariana Islands . Norway . Oman . Pakistan . Palau . Palestine . Panama . Papua New Guinea . Paracel Islands . Paraguay . Peru . Philippines . Pitcairn Islands . Poland . Portugal . Puerto Rico . Qatar . Reunion . Romania . Russia . Rwanda . Ryukyu Islands . Saint Helena . Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Lucia . Saint Pierre & Miquelon . Saint Vincent & The Grenadines . Samoa . San Marino . Sao Tome & Principe . Saudi Arabia . Senegal . Serbia . Seychelles . Sierra Leone . Singapore . Slovakia . Slovenia . Solomon Islands . Somalia . South Africa . Spain . Sri Lanka . Sudan . Suriname . Swaziland . Sweden . Switzerland . Syria . Taiwan . Tajikistan . Tanzania . Thailand . Togo . Tonga . Transkei . Trinidad & Tobago . Tunisia . Turkey . Turkmenistan . Turks and Caicos Islands . Tuvalu . US Virgin Islands . Uganda . Ukraine . United Arab Emirates . Upper Volta . Uruguay . Uzbekistan . Vanuatu . Vatican City (Holy See) . Venezuela . Vietnam . Wake Island . Windward Islands . Yemen . Yugoslavia . Zaire . Zambia . Zimbabwe
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.
French Spanish Bulgarian Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croation Czech Danish Dutch Finnish German Greek Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Swedish Arabic Hebrew Hungarian Thai Turkish English US