Prescriptions
True or False: Prescription opioids used for pain relief are generally safe when taken for a short time and as prescribed by a doctor.
True.
Can a single dose of a prescribed painkiller lead to opioid addiction?
Not exactly. Addiction occurs when someone repeatedly uses a substance to the point that the reward system in their brain becomes desensitized to that substance. This is why a person may start to need the substance in larger amounts to get the same effect.
What medicine can reverse an opioid overdose?
Naloxone / Narcan
True or False: Methadone will always make you feel high.
False. In a medically supervised treatment program, at a therapeutic dose, methadone will not make you feel high.
Bath salts are...
a) Opioids
b) Synthetic opioids
c) Neither
Neither! Bath salts are synthetic stimulants, sold online, and convenience stores.
True or False: Doctors sometimes prescribe fentanyl for their patients.
True. Fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain, especially after surgery and for advanced-stage cancer.
What is opioid tolerance?
A person needs more of a substance to get the same affect
Does opioid overdose reversal treatment always work? Why or why not?
Not always. The effectiveness of naloxone depends on several factors:
True or False: 90% of people in abstinence-based treatment return to illicit opioid use within one year.
True.
What was heroin originally used for?
Pain reliever and cough suppressant
What is the most commonly prescribed opioid in the world?
Hydrocodone (Lortab, Norco, and Vicodin)
True or False: People can safely detox from opioids on their own.
Yes and no. It is possible for someone to detox and go through withdrawals on their own. However, medical detox reduces opioid withdrawal symptoms & complications. Severe withdrawal symptoms can lead to severe complications and sometimes death.
What are some signs that a person is overdosing?
- Slowed or stopped breathing
- Gurgling, choking, or snoring sound while breathing
- Blue-gray lips and fingertip
- Not reacting when you rub your knuckles on their chest
True or False: If you take opioid pain medications for a valid reason, you can't get addicted.
False. Opioid pain medications have a highly addictive nature. Anyone can be at risk of developing an addiction to these medications, especially if they are taken for a long period of time.
Fentanyl is _____ times stronger than heroin and _____ times stronger than morphine.
50 / 100
True or False: Long-term use of prescription opioids prescribed by a doctor is safe.
False. Long-term use of prescription opioids, even as prescribed by a doctor, can cause some people to develop a tolerance. Drug dependence occurs with repeated use, causing the brain to adapt so they only function normally in the presence of the drug.
What is opioid dependence?
When people stop taking the drug, they have physical and psychological symptoms of withdrawal. Their body needs the drug to function "normally."
True or False: Motor vehicle accidents cause more deaths than opioid overdoses.
False. In 2020, there were 2,944 opioid overdose fatalities in Illinois – more than twice the number of fatal motor vehicle accidents and more than twice the number of homicides.
Name two medications that are commonly used for opioid treatment.
Methadone, Suboxone, Vivitrol
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which age group has the highest percentage of past year heroin use?
a) 12 to 17
b) 18 to 25
c) 26 and older
b) 18 to 25
Which of the following is not a prescription opioid medication?
a) Percocet
b) Xanax
c) Tylenol III
d) Codeine
b) Xanax
Benzos, depressant
Name 3 risk factors that may put a person at higher risk for addiction.
- Genetics – Person with family member who has addiction is at greater risk.
- Environment – Parents not involved with children, peer use, social settings.
- Early use – More likely to develop addiction if use starts when young.
- Smoking or injecting – More addictive because drug passes directly into bloodstream and brain without being filtered through liver and other organs.
After giving the first dose of the opioid reversal medication, how long should you wait to give another dose if the person is not responding?
3 to 5 minutes
True or False: People on methadone are just trading one addiction for another.
False. Addiction, or substance use disorder, is a chronic, relapsing condition that is a life-long illness without a “cure.” The disease itself causes permanent chemical and physical changes to the brain that can impact a person for life. Methadone, when used in a controlled clinic setting, is dosed to control the cravings that result from the brain changes and minimizes
True or False: If a woman is pregnant and is addicted to opioids, her doctor will advise her to stop taking opioids immeditely.
False. If she stops taking opioids immediately, it can send her and the baby into withdrawals.