Pain Medication List

Codeine is a special kind of drug which is a member of the group of narcotic pain medications. These are also known as opioid analgesics and have the purpose of treating pain in a way specific only for the drugs of this big family. Namely, these drugs are influencing the nervous system by the attachment of the substances from this kind of drugs to nervous receptors and the result is inhibition of the receptors to transmit any kind of pain information and the patient does not react to the pain anymore because the patient does not feel the pain at all.

Codeine is one of the weakest representatives from the group of narcotic pain medications. It is not able of treating severe pain, but only mild to moderate pain. This medicine is the most renowned for its efficiency and ant-diarrheal, analgesic and anti-tussive purposes.

Codeine, or also called metylmorphine represents a natural opioid, it belongs to the subgroup of alkaloids to be more precise. It is found in a plant from the papaveraceae, or papaver somniferum. We are actually talking about the opium poppy, a plant that has been cultivated by people for centuries and was used for its anti-tussive, anti-diarrheal, analgesic and even hypnotic purposes.

Morphine was isolated for the first time in 1880 because people finally became aware of the fact that it has the same purposes as opium does, only it is less harmful to human’s physical and psychological health than the aggressive opium. Codeine is a powerful morphine aggregate (metylmorphine) which was isolated for the first time 32 years later, in 1832 in France by Pierre Robiquet.

Even though a dose of an oral intake of codeine of 200 milligrams corresponds to a dose of approximately 30 milligrams oral intake of morphine, we must not overlook the great efficiency of codeine in treating diarrhea, cough, symptoms of irritable bowel, and mild to moderate pain irrespectively of the cause.

Codeine can be purchased only if you have a medical prescription by your physician. About that, if you do not have the permission from your doctor, do not take this medicine from someone else, especially if you have had a drug addiction history. Even if your physician allowed you to use this medicine you have to bear in mind that you should take it with the highest caution and responsibility. Do not be afraid or ashamed to ask your doctor for further guidance on the way of intake of codeine you should practice. In most cases the drug comes pure, however, there are drug combinations like that of codeine and acetaminophen (paracetamol). Do not make the fatal mistake and increase the dosing amount of codeine. If the currently prescribed dosing does not seem to do the trick, contact your physician for further guidance. Take your dose with a full glass of water only. Do not dare taking it with alcohol. Death is something inevitable when taking this drug with a glass of alcohol. These drugs are really sensitive in the presence of alcohol, even a presence of alcohol that might seem not dangerous and insignificant to you. Before starting your intake of codeine, check the food and drinks you consume the most that period and make sure they do not contain alcohol at all. Even if we are talking about less than 1 per cent alcohol presence, the risk can be just the same.

Codeine should not be taken by people with head injuries, low blood pressure, women in the phase of pregnancy or breastfeeding, or people who have had kidney and liver insufficiency. It is especially not recommended to people who are drug addicts because the regular usage might cause addiction. The usage, different from what the doctor prescribed might cause nausea, lead to euphoria, dry mouth, and even depression.