Chronic Wound Patients Heal Faster Without Opioid Prescriptions, Accident Victims Too

December 7, 2016December 21, 2018Big Pharma

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A recent George Washington Study looked at opioid treatment and the rate of healing in chronic wounds. It turns out that chronic wound patients who never receive opioids actually heal up faster than those who receive the drugs according to researcher Victoria Shanmugam, M.D. Chronic wounds are those that have failed to heal after three months of appropriate wound care, a problem that affects a whopping 6.5 million Americans. Not only is it an excruciating problem to have but it cuts mortality rates. Shanmugam is striving for more research to see what it is about opioid prescriptions that prevents healing.

The study called “Relationship between Opioid Treatment and Rate of Healing in Chronic Wounds,” published in Wound Repair and Regeneration, the data suggests a that opioid exposure is strongly correlated with reduced likelihood of healing in patients with chronic wounds. Opioid dose was found to be significantly associated with total wound surface area of the 450 subjects enrolled in the WE-HEAL biorepository.

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Shanmugam said [emphasis added]:

Opioid analgestics are commonly prescribed to patients with chronic wounds, but until now, little to no research had been done to determine the relationship between opioid treatment and wound healing.

It seems that exposing patients to opioids may impact ultimate wound outcome…

Pain After Car Accidents?

In an unrelated study presented to the public in the same week – researchers found that accident victims do better without opioid online prescriptions. The study found that for treating persistent pain after a car crash, prescription opioid painkillers such as oxycodone (Oxycontin) are no more effective than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) like ibuprofen, acetemetophin, aspirin.

Lead author Dr. Francesca Beaudoin aptly said:

You’d think there would be a wealth of studies comparing our ‘go-to’ pain meds, but there just aren’t.

She continues on a sad note, “Now that opioids are under fire, it’s forcing us to ask: ‘What is the best treatment, who is it best for and under what conditions?'” They ultimately found that the risk of persistent pain was about the same whether patients took opioids like Oxycontin or Percocet or NSAIDs such as Advil or Motrin. But the study published in the journal Pain found that those who were initially prescribed opioids, were 17.5 percent more likely to still be taking the drugs six weeks later.

Old School New Body Could Be the Answer (ad)

Recently, the American Osteopathic Association announced that the DEA’s potential ban on kratom would stifle scientific attempts to study the potential opioid alternative.

Did you know?

OTC NSAIDS come with their own set of dangers and side effects and can even be fatal. Strangely, OTC pain killers dull emotions and prevent processing of new information. Also, no one really knows how they work. Yet, people are reporting that natural substances like turmeric, ginger, white willow bark and kratom are helping them reduce pain and steer clear of addiction.

Both of these studies and the little-known side effects of OTCs give rise to the idea that no one seems to be running medications through real tests before they are introduced on the market. Still, the fact that wound patients heal faster without them and accident victims can find similar relief with OTC pain relievers (without addiction or overdosing) is a bright spot on the current opioid epidemic.