Opiates are often referred to as drugs and medical have been used to relieve pain for centuries. In the early 19th century, pure extract of morphine has been adapted for solution, and with the advent of the hypodermic needle in the middle of the 19th century, injection of morphine has become a common method of pain. In 1898, heroin was introduced in the medical community as a cure for addiction to morphine. However, it soon revealed that the consumption of heroin is even more likely to produce dependence than morphine. While opiates began early in the medical community, they quickly became one of the main groups of drug abuse. Today, only morphine and codeine are still used in clinical settings for the treatment of pain. The group includes opiate drugs opium, morphine, codeine and heroin, among other synthetic opiates such as Demerol. Now we look the effects of opiates:
- It causes serious health complications, such as fatal overdose, spontaneous abortion, and infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, particularly in users who inject opiates.
- It increases in body temperature, dry mouth, and a heavy feeling in their limbs.
- Because opiates depress respiration, pulmonary complications, such as pneumonia, may occur in longtime users due to respiratory depression and the poor health of the drug user.
- Opiate withdrawal can be incredibly painful, and in some case very dangerous. Withdrawal symptoms may occur as soon as a few hours after the last dose in users who have been regularly abusing opiates.