According to some research, the use of opioid and other painkillers is on the rise among older Americans. This comes with a large number of challenges, including substance use disorder, addiction, and the health issues that accompany these things. This poses a large health risk to seniors, unfortunately.
The team conducted interviews with patients that had become dependent on pain medications to help more fully capture their experience. Even though pain meds were originally described to help, they created a whole new set of issues for these people. Some of the issues created were even worse than the original pain experienced.
Addiction is not something that is easily understood by the rest of the public. It’s also something that the medical community largely misunderstands, too. Even something that can seem innocent, such as a dependence on pain pills, tends to not get the proper care and attention from professionals. It puts those that struggle with this at a huge disadvantage, unfortunately. They are far less likely to get the right care for their unique situation.
Perhaps the best way to prevent dependence on something is to create layers of protection before the substance is ever used. This is why schools teach about the dangers of drug use. It’s why some doctors go over potential issues that might arise with their patients before they prescribe anything. If the last several years have taught us anything about painkillers and similar substances, we need to do a lot more preventative work to help avoid putting seniors in a potentially hazardous situation.
One of the issues with opioid addiction is that it is usually avoidable, especially now that we have a better understanding of this type of medication and how to treat chronic pain. Yes, there’s a lot more research needed to truly understand and fight chronic pain without medication. However, in the past ten years or so, researchers have learned a lot about what can be done to combat this. Antidepressant medications, physical therapy, counseling, exercise, and more have all been shown to be just as effective–or more so–than opioids in most individuals.
This research came out of the University of Surrey in the UK. The team published their findings in the journal, Pain and Therapy. Hopefully, it will serve as a reminder to future researchers that the experience of someone suffering from substance use disorder needs special attention, especially as they age and require more intensive senior care.
Each situation is different when it comes to care. That’s why we so strongly believe that in-home care is valuable for just about everyone. In-home care is individualized, and it easily allows a caregiver to adjust what they do to more fully meet the needs of the person that they are helping.
We’re here to help. If you’d like to learn more about how in-home care can help you and your family, please reach out today. We can talk quickly over the phone or schedule a free consultation session to go into more depth with you. Call us to start.
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