Nature gave people a lot of useful substances, among which there are plant alkaloids, some of which are narcotic drugs. Since the earliest times, people have used them for medicinal purposes. But man is a strange creature, drug addiction has become the cause of the enormous problems of modern society. What are opioids and opiates, what applies to them, how do they affect the human body, why are they considered drugs? We will try to consider these issues in this article.
Opiates and opioids - drugs and medicines
Not many modern drug addicts know that as a medicinal substance with sedative and sedative, as well as analgesic effects, opium was known even to the ancient Sumerians, about 6 millennia ago. It was obtained and obtained from the milky juice of poppies, dried in the sun. This brown substance is opium. It contains alkaloids, among which there are those that have narcotic properties. These are morphine, codeine, narcotine, thebaine, papaverine. Due to the fact that opium contains such a large number of narcotic components, it itself is considered a potent drug.
Two types of derivatives of this element are separated - opiates and opioids. According to some reports, opiates are the natural components of opium, and opioids are synthesized or semi-synthetic substances of narcotic action. All of them are officially used in medicine only as elements for the production of certain groups of drugs that are subject to strict registration and dispensing from the pharmacy network only by prescription, drawn up in accordance with the rules established by law.
All opiates used for medical purposes are depressive drugs. In everyday life, unfortunately, their effect is used to obtain intoxication, proceeding in several stages.
How do substances act on the body?
To date, opiates are strictly controlled, but widely used in medicine, medicinal substances used in the relief of pain attacks in patients with various diseases. In order for the drug to work, the dose is selected individually, because the effect of opiates on the human body is very variable. It all depends on the complex of conditions. But you should always remember that both opiates and opioids are addictive, and the higher the tolerance to the substance, the higher the dose required to obtain the expected effect of opiate use.
What are the stages of the action of opiate drugs?
One of the common drug groups is opiates. The signs of use, the consequences of drug addiction by such substances should be well known to those who suffer from the presence of this problem in life. Relatives who use drugs - this is a huge disaster. But why are some people so attracted to the use of psychoactive substances? Opiate intoxication - what is it? As the addicts themselves say, the process of passing the drug through the body causes pleasure that a person does not seek to receive differently. The stages of action of opiates are as follows:
- heat rising from the lower body up to the face, head; the face turns red, the look is meaningless; as drug addicts themselves say, this stage attracts them with the absence of thoughts in their head, only the bodily sensations of warmth and peace - nothing more;
- the second stage is characterized by a sensation of pleasure, the appearance of laughing, cheerful hallucinations; during this period of time, the person who takes the drug does not respond to external stimuli, falling into a kind of "nirvana";
- in the third phase, sleep sets in, it is very disturbing, any rustling can wake a person who wakes up with a severe headache and a feeling of being broken.
But taking opiates, like any other narcotic substances, without medical indications, in large doses, is not an immersion in a fairy tale, it is a terrible reality of awakening, because drug addiction comes very quickly.
Signs of Poisoning
Since addiction to the drug occurs very quickly, it is quite difficult to guess the dose that is safe for life. That is why overdose and poisoning are a common cause of death of drug addicts, not counting the destruction of organs and systems of the body under the influence of these substances. An ambulance crew called up on time often diagnoses an addict with opiate poisoning? What is and how to determine this fact? Signs of overdose and poisoning are as follows:
- confused consciousness ;
- a sharp narrowing of the pupils that do not respond to light;
- hypoxia;
- blue skin - the so-called respiratory cyanosis;
- respiratory depression - bradypnea, with possible respiratory arrest - apnea;
- coma (loss of consciousness of varying degrees up to the absence of bioelectric impulses of the brain);
- toxic or hypoxic encephalopathy - the destruction of brain cells, most often irreversible;
- hypostatic pneumonia;
- mydriasis (dilated pupils);
- spontaneous rhabdomyliosis - a syndrome characterized by an extreme degree of myopathy - muscle damage;
- cerebral edema.
If you observe signs of poisoning or overdose, you should immediately seek qualified medical help.
Opiate poisoning stages
People who take drugs for medical reasons or because of drug addiction often experience opiate poisoning. What? This condition is caused by accidental or deliberate use of a large amount of a narcotic substance. Such a condition goes through several stages, and the sooner a person is provided with qualified medical care, the higher the chance of returning him to a normal state, although the problem of recovering from drug addiction is very difficult to solve. The stages in which opiate poisoning proceeds are as follows:
- The first stage is characterized by lethargy, drowsiness, stupidity, ptosis (lowering of the upper eyelid), a decrease in the pupils and the lack of their reaction to light, nystagmus (rapid involuntary movements of the pupils), muscle hypotension, and decreased tendon reflexes. A person is still conscious, you can talk to him, but his condition quickly worsens, and the second stage begins.
- In the second stage, the patient falls into a superficial coma and unconsciousness; in addition to the symptoms of stage 1 poisoning, hypertension, opistotonus, trismus of the masticatory muscles, convulsions appear. The condition continues to deteriorate, passing into the third stage.
- The third stage of opiate poisoning is characterized by a deep coma, the vast majority of reflexes are absent; vivid expression is received by cyanosis, bradyapnea and Cheyne-Stokes respiration (the so-called breath of death), cerebral edema. This stage is the last one when a person can be saved. If time is lost, death occurs after 6-12 hours due to respiratory arrest.
- The fourth stage is observed only with the timely provision of qualified medical care; this is the stage of exit from the coma, manifested first by the restoration of respiratory function, blood circulation, and then consciousness.
What are the implications?
The consequences of opiate use are a terrible picture. Drug withdrawal from a narcotic coma is then characterized by opiate withdrawal syndrome, the patient remains with serious health problems:
- insomnia;
- muscle and joint pain;
- stomach ache;
- hypertension
- diarrhea;
- itching in the nose;
- runny nose;
- chills;
- sweating
- irritability;
- lacrimation
- tachycardia;
- anxiety;
- tremor.
In just a few doses of the drug, the first and second stages of drug intoxication (the so-called euphoria and nirvana among addicts) practically disappear, and the addict is forced to take drugs to reduce withdrawal symptoms.
How to provide first aid?
Rehabilitation of drug addicts is the work of a number of specialists. People whose profession or beliefs require assistance to drug addicts give all their time and energy to help such people. But first aid for opiate poisoning can be provided by those who are nearby at this moment, and it often happens that they turn out to be unfamiliar, completely alien people who can save lives. Such assistance is reduced to one step - to call an emergency room and to avoid contact with any organic fluids of the patient, as most often drug addicts have a whole bunch of diseases - from syphilis to HIV. All medical manipulations should be carried out only by specialists.
It seems that the answer to the question: "Poisoning by opiates - what is it?" - shows how terrible the condition is with uncontrolled drug use and what awaits the vast majority of drug addicts in the future.