Painkiller turns women into

Experts warn that more and more women are "addicted" to taking co-codamol analgesics with two main ingredients - paracetemol and codeine - an addictive substance that has a powerful analgesic effect, classified in the same category. with morphine and heroin.

Statistics show that in the UK alone, over the past 10 years, the number of prescriptions with co-codamol has nearly doubled, from 8.8 million in 2001 to 15 million in 20011. Experts are speaking up. Calls need to be more careful when prescribing this drug in the treatment of patients with long-term pain.

According to them, although the codeine component of co-codamol helps reduce pain effectively, but like many other opioid drugs, it creates a feeling of calm and happiness.

"Doctors and patients consider co-codamol to be the safest of all addictive drugs, but in fact it is not synonymous with safety," said Des Spence general physician in Glasgow. .

Women are more addicted to painkillers than men.(Photo: Medicmagics.net)

Ongoing research indicates that women are more addicted to opium-based drugs than men. Sisters are also more likely to seek support from this form of painkiller, according to the UK Drug Abuse Information Agency.

On some international websites, you can easily find items that address the subject of co-codamol addiction. An account called Christine wrote on the Netmums forum: "I recently realized that I'm really" addicted "to co-codamol, the medicine I use to relieve back pain. to begin to get rid of this ghostly pain reliever, because every 3 hours without any body aches, I feel tired, sullen and agitated. I'm afraid to go to the doctor because they can make me stop taking drugs. "

Another Netmums member, nicknamed Nikki, replied: "I am in a similar situation. I have been taking co-codamol for about 5 years, relatively more every day because of migraine. Initially, I only drink them when needed, but then, sometimes I find myself taking the medicine every 4 - 5 hours, even if I don't really have a headache. , make me need to keep taking medicine ".

Signs of a co-codamo addiction include increased tolerance (causing the person to take more medication to have the same effect), symptoms of a lack of medication (feeling sick if not using regular medicine) piercing) and use the drug in larger doses and for longer periods than required.

Co-codamol is currently being sold in low-dose pharmacies (8 - 30mg codeine / 500mg paracetamol) and warns against using this drug for more than 3 days.