What Type of Narcotics are Prescribed for Pain Relief?

Narcotics are drugs that help in pain relief causing sleep or drowsiness. They are also by the name opiates or opioids as they basically originate from opium poppy. Today, most of the narcotics are synthetic, meaning they are chemicals produced by drug companies. Some of the more frequently used narcotics for relieving pain are:

  • Morphine: Morphine is one of the most regularly used narcotics for pain relief. It is generally injected into muscles or veins. People who have the habit of taking regular doses of morphine may become dependent on the drug.
  • Codeine: It is the most prescribed narcotic and is produced from morphine by chemically altering it. For pain relief, it is usually combined with painkillers such as acetaminophen or aspirin or NSAIDs (nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs), which are non-narcotic.
  • Hydromorphone: It too, like codeine, is synthetically manufactured from morphine. This drug can be taken as injectable solution or tablets and is very useful for terminally ill people since it integrates high efficiency with few side effects.
  • Meperidine: It was initially produced to cure muscle spasms; however, since 2005 it is used mostly for pain control. It is available in the form of tablets of differing power.

Some other types of narcotics prescribed are oxymorphone, levorphanol, oxycodone and methadone.