Morphine Side Effects

In my previous post, I have spoken about reglan side effects.

Among the fifty known alkaloids present in opium, morphine is the first active substance that is purified from it with unimaginable morphine side effects. In fact, morphine is seen to be containing 8 to 17 % of the dried weight of the opium plant. As to its pain relieving factor there are very few drugs parallel to it.

Morphine has been in the drug market as a cure for chronic pain for more than a century. During the ancient past it was openly sold in the chemist shops and a lot of people unwarily got addicted to it along with other narcotics. It was only later that the dangerous effects of the drug were noticed and answers to the strange symptoms associated with it was brought to light.

Addiction causing drug as a great reliever

The drug is a potent opiate analgesic and was first discovered in 1804 and was marketed from 1857. With the arrival of the hypodermic needle the drug was quickly accepted as a pain killer with extraordinary qualities.

Morphine also has a high potential of addiction and tolerance and there is rapid development of psychological dependence on the drug by people who use it. This can result in different types of mild to severe morphine side effects for which treatment has to be done in an emergency. It is also used for myocardial infraction and for labor pains with good effects.

It can create severe damaging effect on people if taken along with alcohol and there are chances of the person succumbing to the combined reactions of the two. Hence, morphine is to be used under the supervision of a medical practitioner who has all the knowledge about the patient’s history of illness.

Great many unique advantages of morphine

Morphine is used as an analgesic and is most abundantly found alkaloid in opium. Morphine is actually produced in the early stages of the life cycle of the opium plant. It helps in relieving severe to agonizing pain and has the potential for high addiction in patients and others as well psychological dependence to the drug.

There is no doubt that morphine acts on the body as an instant pain reliever and gives the patient an immense relief which otherwise he or she would have to bear. It is used in most cases where there is moderate to severe pain. It functions by dulling the pain perception center in the brain and as such even if there is actually pain in the body the patient never feels it.

Due to the above reason the drug is also used for pain relief during child birth in particular with caesarian operations. However, the drug cannot be consumed without consulting a doctor as there are chances of the patients getting addicted to it with severe complications and side effects.

The medicine should not be allowed to pass hands from one person to another as there is danger of its effects passing to different people in different ways. For this most physicians cap a limit to the dosages while treating the patient as any excess dosage could be extremely harmful to the patient.

In several cases of treatment the patient is not administered or asked to take morphine for the very reason that he or she is under the medication of another analgesic already. Further, morphine cannot be given to relieve pain from surgery unless the patient has been taking the drug prior to the surgery. As alcohol is very dangerous when combining with morphine the patient should check his or her other medications to see if any of these contain any alcohol or not.

Continued intake of this medicine and that which prolongs for several weeks can lead to irreversible morphine side effects. If a patient is an asthmatic then usually morphine is not recommended or prescribed by the doctors as it can complicate things. Patients with bowel obstruction are also not allowed to take it and so also those with liver and kidney diseases, under active thyroid.

Morphine Side Effects

There are extremely high to moderate side effects if morphine is continued as a medication. First of all the patients must explain the entire history of his health as the drug has the potential to harm the patient even if he were doing quite well in the present circumstances. Earlier cases of kidney problems or liver problems may make the medical practitioner to prescribe drugs other than morphine.

The same is the case with head injuries and brain tumor, epilepsy, Addison’s disease, urinary problems and mental illness. In such cases too the doctor usually avoids prescribing the drug which can result in extreme side effects and even death.

The drug is available in tablet form and is harmful to the pregnant woman as the child might become addictive or suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Morphine intake can harm the child through the mother’s milk.

The main side effects of morphine are the respiratory depression with pupil contraction, nausea and vomiting, its effects on bowel and urinary tracts, cough suppressions, sedation and addiction.

The drug should be taken only in the prescribed doses only and the doctor might continue the regular check up of urine and stool to watch its reaction on the patient’s body. The drug should not be discontinued all on a sudden but in gradual stages lest it leads to serious morphine side effects.

In the next post, we will discuss methotrexate side effects