Essay on Morphine

Morphine is a strong painkiller used to cure severe pain, for example, pain from a heart attack, cancer, or after an operation. It is also occasionally used to treat other types of prolonged standing pain when weaker painkillers fail to work. Individuals can only access morphine after being prescribed. It is available in the form of injections, granules that can dissolve in water, capsules, tablets, or as a suppository which is a medicine which you should gently push in your anus. For morphine injections, you can only receive them from a hospital.

The most common side effects of morphine include feeling sleepy, sick, and constipating [1]. While it is not uncommon to hear of people who have been addicted to morphine, it is rare to take the drug to relieve pain and if a doctor is reviewing the intake of the drug. One should refrain from taking alcohol when taking morphine since if that happens, the side effects will become even more extreme.

The mechanism of action in morphine starts when it attaches itself to the opioid receptors, and the receptors are activated to mediate actions by some molecules. Morphine acts on the receptors that express themselves on the central nervous system’s cells, which results in analgesia and pain relief. Morphine has a presynaptic action that prevents neurotransmitters’ release, one of its significant effects on the nervous system. There are three types of opioid receptors; k, m, and d [2]. Morphine has a higher affinity for m receptors, but all three receptors produce analgesia whenever morphine binds to them.

Adults of all ages, together with children, are allowed to take morphine. However, older people and young children are likely to experience some side effects. There are groups of people that should refrain from taking morphine. Always inform the doctor before beginning the medication if any of the conditions below are present.

• Allergic reaction to morphine or any other medicine
• Lung problems or breathing difficulties
• Alcohol addict
• Seizure conditions
• Head injury
• Low thyroid levels
• Liver or kidney problems
• Enlarged prostate
• Low blood pressure

It would be best if persons took morphine according to the prescription of your doctor. Morphine should be taken after a meal or snack to lessen the side effects. Morphine tablets can wither be slow-acting or fast-acting. The fast-acting contain either 50mg, 20mg or 10mg of morphine whole the slow-acting tablets are available in 200mg, 100mg, 60mg, 30mg, 15mg, 10mg and 5mg [1]. For the granules, which come in sachets, you are expected to mix them in water and drink.

The injections, suppositories, and liquid forms of morphine are fast-acting, and some of the capsules and tablets will work quickly too. They are primarily used for pain that will not last for long. Doctors prescribe fast-acting morphine once a patient starts taking morphine to help determine the right type of dose.

Some morphine capsules, tablets, and granules are slow-release. This means that the morphine is released slowly in the body in between 12 and 24 hours. Such forms of morpheme will take a while before they start working but will be effective for long. They are primarily used to treat long-term pain. There are times when one will be required to take both slow-release morphine and fast-acting morphine to manage the sudden flares of pain that come up when the medicine is working for a long period.

Tablets that work slowly are known as Morphogenic SR or MST Continus, while fast-acting tablets are known as Sevredol. Capsules that work slowly are known as Zomorph or XML [2]. Morphine dosage varies from person to person, the intensity of a person’s pain, and how the person has responded to other painkillers.

Sources

1. Karch SB. Drug Abuse Handbook: CRC/Taylor & Francis 2006; Pp7-9
2. Martin WR, Fraser HF. A comparative study of physiological and subjective effects of heroin and morphine administered intravenously in postaddicts” The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. 2012: 388-99