Painkiller Withdrawal is Dangerous and Can Be Deadly without Medical Detox
The number 1 most important thing that families need to know about painkiller withdrawal is that quitting suddenly can be dangerous, and the withdrawal symptoms from painkiller addiction can be deadly, if not treated with medically supervised opioid detox.
We cannot stress this enough, if you have a loved one that is addicted to painkillers and opioid-based prescription drugs. Do not let them quit cold turkey, get them into proper care with medically assisted painkiller detox.
Prevent Prescription Opioid Abuse in Your Home
According to a study on “Association of Household Opioid Availability and Prescription Opioid Initiation Among Household Members,” dangerously addictive prescription painkillers prescribed to one person in the family can easily wind up in the hands of others in the house.
Not only are family members likely to take prescription opioids to get high if they are easily accessible in the home, but the study also shows that when a person in a family gets prescribed opioids, other members are more likely to get a similar prescription filled within 12 months.
When one family member takes prescription opioids that were meant for another member of the family, this is called drug diversion and opioid initiation. The risk is that the person taking the opioids may become addicted, and quickly seek out new sources of opioids.
“When opioids are prescribed to one family member, there is a 12% risk that other family members will consume those drugs, and be ‘initiated’ into opioid abuse and addiction through this exposure.”
75% of heroin users in treatment admit that their addiction started with prescription painkiller opioids, and many of those that developed a substance abuse issue with prescription painkillers admit that they started taking the pills from their parents’ or other family members’ prescriptions. This makes the prescriptions painkillers that are not locked up and are easily accessible to other family members the #1 root cause of heroin addiction.
When you look at the heroin epidemic today, having killed of 65,000 Americans in 2016, drug diversion from unsecured medications in your family’s home is dangerous and 100% preventable. Parents especially should not leave any prescription medications accessible to children or any other family members.