Opioids

Featured Articles : Opioids

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, 2 mg of fentanyl (which can fit on the tip of a pencil) can be enough to kill the average American.
October 08, 2024

Fentanyl 101

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic (lab-made) opioid. Prescription fentanyl is FDA -approved to treat severe pain related to surgery or...

Substance Use Disorder, Opioids
Narcan is a brand of naloxone and is available as a nasal spray.
September 19, 2024

How naloxone reverses opioid overdoses (and why it’s important to have on hand!)

Naloxone is a powerful tool for preventing deaths from opioid overdoses. First responders and health care providers use this medication...

Substance Use Disorder, Opioids, Opioid Overdose

Addiction recovery is not always an easy climb. For some people it’s a complicated path.
September 17, 2024

‘I choose to climb instead of fall’

Rachel George is in recovery for opioid use disorder (OUD). Now she’s sharing her story with NIH MedlinePlus Magazine to...

Substance Use Disorder, Opioid Use Disorder, Opioids
Opioids, like fentanyl and oxycodone, are often prescribed for severe pain and can be highly addictive.
March 16, 2021

NIH study links opioids to pregnancy loss

A new study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that women who use opioids while trying to conceive...

Opioids, Pregnancy

Providing resources to opioid overdose patients in the ER can help reduce the risk of death by overdose or suicide.
November 26, 2020

ER visits for drug overdose may raise risk of later death

People treated in the emergency room (ER) for an opioid overdose are 100 times more likely to die by drug overdose...

Opioid Use Disorder, Opioids, Mental Health, Opioid Overdose
September 12, 2019

New maps feature makes drug disposal easier and safer

If you have unused or expired prescriptions, where should you get rid of them? Look to your phone or other...

Opioid Use Disorder, Opioids

NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., is working across NIH to address the opioid crisis.
January 13, 2019

Fighting the opioid crisis: NIH HEAL initiative takes on addiction and pain management

More than 115 Americans die from opioid overdose every day. That's four times higher than the number of opioid overdose...

Opioids
James M. maintains a drug-free lifestyle with support from UTEC, Inc.
January 13, 2019

Renewal and recovery after opioid dependence

For the past six years, James M. was in and out of jail, courtrooms, detox, and halfway houses. "I started...

Opioids

January 09, 2019

Healing and haiku: One parent’s experience with addiction and loss

Haiku is a form of poetry that can express complex emotions and ideas in a short and simple form. In...

Opioids
Barbara Gillmeister and her son Gilly.
January 08, 2019

A safe home for young men struggling with addiction

Barbara Gillmeister knows what it's like to worry about a child with an opioid addiction. "When you have someone...

Opioids