Opioid Seminar
An Opioid Seminar, “Moving Beyond Opioids: the Future of Pain Management,” was held at North Central College, hosted by Dr. Azlan Tariq.
He shared that easy access, marketing, and resorting to medication first are some reasons why there’s an epidemic today.
“A lot of patients will end up using these narcotics for things that are not really needed for that. For example, they might be depressed or anxious and that might be causing the pain,” said Dr. Tariq. “Or they might have a diagnosis that maybe a doctor didn’t figure out and they might just be trying to cover that up with a pain medication versus trying to find the real reason or real source. A lot of times you’re self-treating an issue or ailment that could be treated differently.”
Alternatives for Patients
For some conditions, alternatives like yoga, acupuncture, and massage may be a better choice.
But that may not be the case for all patients.
“There’s obviously real reasons that someone might need a pain medicine, if they have surgery or pain from a procedure or it could be cancer. There is a time and need for pain medications,” said Dr. Tariq.
Prescription Precautions
If you do need the medications, it’s important to go through the proper channels and in the proper way.
For those who have prescriptions, be sure they are stored in a secure place and refrain from sharing or selling.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.
