Question

aging matters:opiod and addiction thoughts and opinions reflection

, thoughts and ideas about addiction for older adults.

Answer 1

Opiod adddiction amon the elderly

The elderly are often prescribed opiods following or in conditions like arthritis , neuropathies as an analgesic.Addiction is a condition where these people are inclined to the development of a complete dependence towards these agents.

a)Lacking in the dose adjustment in prescribing manner where opiods are irrationaly prescribed where the overdose happens is the most common cause leading to addiction.This happens because additional factors related to the physiology are to be considered in geriatric dosing.

b)Physiological Reasons:

As aging occurs ,organs also age.resulting in a reduced hepatic and renal filtration. Therefore, the kinetics of opiods are altered compared to the normal adult population.This is a prior concern because decline in elimination will result in the accumulation of drug in the body , further leading to effect of drug for a longer period.During this period concominant administration of opiods can also be considered as a case of overdose.

c)Psychological aspect:

Since the elderly are observed to have low adherance to the medications due to impaired memory , auditory impairment etc.. This can lead to under or over administering of these opiods which result in the development of tolerance over long period.

Also, as the addiction is developed , the dicontinuing of the analgesic may give rise to various withdrawal effects which may present with further omplications.

As the above mentioned factors as seen will aid in the development of an addiction faster , therefore the substance abuse is common these days. Fighting with the stigma and the possible effects through councelling and rehabilitation can help these population to overcome this condition.