Cryotherapy Could Help Fight America’s Opioid Epidemic

The mother in this article discusses her experience with having her teenage son’s wisdom teeth pulled. Before the procedure was even done, the dentist prescribed her son Percocet, an opioid.

Death of Rising Rap Star Opens Up Discussion Once Again About America’s Opioid Epidemic

The recent death of rapper Jarad Higgins, more commonly known by his rap name as Juice Wrld, is hard to digest in more ways than one. Not only because it’s incredibly tragic (he was just 21), but also because the way he died is very complicated and troubling.

Let’s Be Proactive About Fentanyl

Angela Kennecke is a news reporter who reported for years about the opioid epidemic in America. Unfortunately, she became directly affected by the very problem she had dedicated her career to informing people about. Kennecke’s daughter recently died due to a fentanyl overdose.

The Secret to Pain Management Starts with Diet

Pain management can be a daunting task. If you are a Tom Petty fan, you had to be saddened by his recent death in October, 2017 from his unsuccessful attempt at managing his pain with opioids. He was just 66-years-old.

Boomers Are At Higher Risk For Opioid Addiction: Here’s How To Protect Yourself

If you’d like to see upfront-and-personal the face of the fastest-growing group of people at risk for opioid addiction and abuse, look in your bathroom mirror. While it may be comforting to believe that drug addiction affects mostly people who are “not like us,” the truth is a little different.

Is Massage Therapy the Missing Link in Pain Management?

As unpleasant as it is, pain is good because it protects us. The human brain has neurons or nerve cells, which “carry messages” that tell us if something is painful or pleasurable. If you couldn’t feel the sensation of being burned, this could be deadly so pain is actually a lifesaver.

When easing the pain turns fatal: Fentanyl took Prince from us and continues to gain popularity

In April 2016, the world learned about the untimely death of a legend known as Prince. He died of an accidental fentanyl overdose, the autopsy showed. However, the pills found at his Paisley Park home were mislabeled, according to reports, highlighting an ongoing issue: opioid deaths. Despite efforts to rein in opioid-related deaths in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that death rates continue to rise.

When easing the pain turns fatal: The big problem with opioids and anti-anxiety drugs

You may or may not have heard that opioid painkiller use has skyrocketed into epidemic proportions, with deadly overdoses on the rise. For example, The Washington Post reported that between 1999 and 2014, deadly opioid overdoses among middle-aged white women shot up 400 percent. But it’s not just opioid use we have to worry about. In fact, anti-anxiety drugs called benzodiazepines contributed to many of those deaths, even as much as a third of them in recent years.

Over-prescribing opioids: Where does this problem stem from?

We’ve recently reported on the tremendous overuse of prescription painkiller drugs in this country. Almost everyone knows someone on Vicodin, Percocet, or Norco. Some patients have trouble getting off the drugs, and part of the problem is over-prescribing. So, where is this over-prescribing coming from?

Opioid overdoses on the rise

The U.S. is experiencing an epidemic in drug overdose deaths, the CDC says, and misuse of opioid painkillers are a big part of the problem. Since 2000, overdose deaths from opioids have risen 200 percent. In 2014, there were approximately one and a half times more drug overdose deaths than deaths from car crashes in the U.S.