Painkillers now kill more Americans than any illegal drug
I&#x27;ve lost at least two elderly, extended family members this way.  Both applied both a patch and took a pill, which caused an OD.<p>The issue is that many opioids and non opioids gap between the  therapeutic dose range and LD50% is often dangerously narrow.<p>Complication #0: serum bioavailable molecule assay is rarely monitored.  People metabolize and clear drugs at vastly differently rates.<p>Complication #1:  Hospital mistakes still happen quite frequently, despite many measures to prevent them, especially with inexperienced and overworked nurses&#x2F;assistants.<p>Complication #2: cummulative dosing error or interactions, especially multiple, independent prescriptions for similar opioids with different administration routes (patches, sprays, pills, injections)<p>Complication #3: overprescription of opioids because they&#x27;re cheap, especially to veterans, which also leads to prescription and hard drug addictions.<p>Solution: opiods need to be singularly controlled at home or in the hospital by an integrated, blood&#x2F;interstitial fluid measuring&#x2F;dispensing unit to avoid OD and push back on abuse.<p>Plus, anyone taking opioids should also have narcan or equivalent antidote readily available, and wear a medalert QR code bracelet which lists relevant conditions and medications should they be found unresponsive.<p>Finally, avoid painkillers as much as possible and take the least dose which reduces stress level.