Chronic pain affects around 100 million people in the United States. Between 5 and 8 million Americans use prescription painkillers to manage their long-term pain. In light of these numbers, prescription opioids are becoming the most prevalent drugs in the United States, and painkillers containing the narcotic hydrocodone are the most commonly prescribed drug in the country. However, as the
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Panel Warns Against Prescription Opioids for Chronic Pain
Posted April 13, 2015 in Product News and Recalls
First Decrease Shown in Painkiller Deaths Since 1999
Posted January 5, 2015 in Product News and Recalls
In recent years, painkiller overdose and resulting fatalities have been a matter of great concern. The rate of death from painkiller use has nearly doubled in the past decade. However, in a recent article, USA Today reports of the first decrease in deaths since 1999.
The data on death by prescription painkillers shows a strong inverse correlation with deaths by heroin overdose. While the rates of prescription overdoses declined, there was a corresponding increase in heroin ...
continue reading...Study Highlights Increased Narcotic Painkiller Use by U.S. Workers on Disability
Posted December 12, 2014 in Product News and Recalls | Workplace Injuries
Abuse of painkillers has become an epidemic in America. The journal Medical Care recently released a study that found a growing number of people on disability from work were prescribed powerful prescription narcotic painkillers.
The research found that about 44 percent of people that receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits were prescribed narcotic painkillers between 2007 and 2011. The percentage of people using the drugs long-term rose from 21 percent in 2007 to 23 ...
continue reading...The Dangers of Prescription Painkillers
Posted December 8, 2014 in Product News and Recalls
Prescription painkillers are becoming much more prevalent in the United States and there are serious risks associated with these drugs that many are not aware of. The use of prescription opioids has increased dramatically in the past decade as prescriptions for OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin and other pain medications have climbed 300 percent. Painkillers containing the narcotic hydrocodone are now the most commonly ...
DEA Tightens Rule on Widely Prescribed Painkillers
Posted October 20, 2014 in Product News and Recalls
The federal government is tightening the prescribing practices for the most commonly used painkiller drug in the United States. The New York Times reports that the narcotic ingredient, hydrocodone, will now be placed in a much tougher and more restrictive category effective this month. This is one of the most far-reaching efforts to stop the epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse by Americans.
The new rule makes it so doctors will no longer be able to call ...
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