When we were interviewed on KLTT am 670 this week the announcer was very ready to mention that people have to get to the cause of their problems rather than pop pain pills. This made me think about how much the public really is sick and tired of being sick and tired and is fed up with being anesthetized to relieve pain with no growth. We re-posted an article from the chiropractic journal on our site about the massive amount of pain pill overdoses that currently are sending thousands to the hospital each year.
Overdoses of the common household drug acetaminophen lead to more than 78,000 emergency department (ED) visits a year, and the majority of the overdoses are intentional, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Understand that in addition to the negative physical effects of drugs there is also the cultural tendency that has been created to move towards medications as an answer for everything.
“About 70% are for self-harm attempts, and 13% to 14% are kids getting into products,” said lead study author Daniel Budnitz, MD, medical officer at the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. “The other 16% are the adolescents and adults that generally fall into two groups: the younger adults that are misusing over-the-counter products because they are trying to get better pain control and don’t understand the risks, and the older adults that are making some errors using the opioid combination products.”
Consumers take acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol — to reduce pain or fever, as a single drug in tablets, capsules or liquid. Acetaminophen combines with other drugs in a variety of over-the-counter (OTC) cold, flu, and sinus medicines including Theraflu, Triaminic and Sudafed.
Since they are OTC drugs, people normally consider them completely safe. Acetaminophen also appears in combination with an opioid – a narcotic — in prescription medicines like Vicodin (with hydrocodone) or in Percocet (with oxycodone).
ED visits related to abuse of acetaminophen products were not included in the study, which appears online and in the June issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Young people ages 15 to 24 are at highest risk for suicide attempts or acts of self-harm involving acetaminophen, the researchers found. “Because these data are based on ED records, it is often difficult to determine exactly what motivated the patient – if they had a premeditated plan to end their life with an overdose or if the overdose was an impulsive act,” said Dr. Budnitz.
Among the others in this age group, 75% of ED visits occurred because they went above the recommended acetaminophen dosage in search of quicker or stronger relief.
Overdoses by people who think more medicine is better points to a deep knowledge gap and need for better consumer education about a familiar drug, said Henry Spiller, director of the Kentucky Regional Poison Center. He has no affiliation with the study.
SOURCES: American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 40(6), 2011 and Health Behavior News Service.
