Patient was educated on contraindications for opioid pain medications use as follows:
- Opioid pain medications affect the respiratory center in the brain and induce slowing down of respirations. The breathing pattern can become irregular with reduced gas exchange and lead to elevated carbon dioxide and reduced oxygen levels in the body. Overdose of opioid pain medications can also cause respiratory arrest. Opioid pain medications should be avoided or used with extreme caution in individuals with history of respiratory abnormalities, such as, asthma and COPD.
- Opioid pain medications should be avoided or used with extreme caution in individuals with history of head injury, coma, and brain surgery. These individuals are at increased risk for depression of the respiratory center and coma with opioid pain medications.
- Avoid using opioid pain medications along with other medications that have a potential to cause respiratory depression, such as, muscle relaxants, sedatives, and anti-anxiety medications. Though they cause mild respiratory depression individually, they can have an additive effect when combined with opioid pain medications and thus, precipitate severe respiratory depression, coma, and can be fatal.
- Opioid pain medications have the potential to increase the intracranial pressure. Individuals with history of head injury, curvature of the spine, and intracranial lesions are at increased risk for elevated intracranial pressures, secondary to opioid pain medications use, with consequent headache, vomiting, double vision, and confusion.
- Opioid pain medications should be avoided in individuals with history of drug and alcohol addiction. Do not take alcohol with opioid pain medications, as this can lead to severe depression of the respiratory center in the brain, respiratory arrest, and coma. Also, combining opioid pain medications with alcohol can increase the chance for liver injury many folds.
