State in health crisis: Life expectancy in the USA has fallen in recent years.In addition to Covid-19, the opioid crisis has also contributed largely./ Photo: Getty Images/Moussa81
The beginnings of the opioid crisis in the USA lie in the 1990s.At that time, manufacturers, wholesalers and pharmacies began to aggressively advertise the highly effective painkillers, especially the oxycodone-containing painkiller Oxycontin from Purdue Pharma.From then on, doctors prescribed the oxycodone preparations quite generously - and many patients became addicted. Cinchocain
Once the treatment was over, the patients no longer received a prescription for oxycodone.Many then obtained the drug on the black market and eventually switched to cheaper alternatives, such as heroin and fentanyl.The latter is particularly easy and inexpensive to produce and is 50 times more potent than heroin.There is also the problem that many supposedly harmless substances that people abuse, such as cocaine or dexamfetamine, are also contaminated with fentanyl.An opioid overdose can sometimes quickly “accidentally” occur.
In the past 20 years, around 500,000 people in the USA have died from an opioid overdose.The consequences of the crisis are still devastating today: one person in the USA currently dies of an overdose approximately every five minutes.The corona pandemic has made the crisis even worse: between April 2020 and April 2021, more than 100,000 drug-related deaths were recorded in one year for the first time, according to the CDC health authority.Three out of four deaths are caused by opioids.
The opioid crisis has also led to a nationwide wave of lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies.Pharmaceutical companies, the pharmacy chains Walmart, CVS and Walgreens and, most recently, the consulting firm Mc Kinsey have already had to pay large sums in settlements and penalties.
In the USA, more and more drugs are being mixed with the α2-adrenoceptor agonist xylazine, also called “Tranq” or “Tranq Dope”.When added to fentanyl, the drug increases the effects and prolongs the high.Xylazine, which is approved as a veterinary drug, can cause serious and life-threatening side effects in humans, fatally similar to those commonly experienced with opioids.It is therefore difficult to distinguish opioid overdose from xylazine exposure.Xylazine slows breathing and heartbeat, and can cause skin abscesses and ulcers.The substance is known as a “zombie drug” because it can cause serious skin injuries and the decay and death of body tissue.
Of course, opioids are now being prescribed more restrictively in the USA, but the clock cannot be turned back.US President Joe Biden wants to tighten penalties for drug dealers and controls on the border with Mexico - where much of the black market fentanyl for the US is produced.Naloxone nasal sprays have also been available to buy without a prescription in the USA for a few months now.Naloxone, as an antidote, can reverse the effects of an opiate overdose within minutes.In some places, the nasal sprays are provided free of charge by organizations that combat drug abuse, and in some cases you can also get them from vending machines.
Patients who use buprenorphine as a sublingual preparation are at increased risk of serious dental damage.But there is no warning in many instructions for use.
Bmk Powder Prescription opioids are often considered indispensable in the treatment of severe pain.However, if used incorrectly, the addictive potential of the substances increases.Strict indications and careful information are essential.