Painkiller : It may kill you, too.

Oxies, OC, oxycotton, 80s, percs, vikes, and vikings are commonly used terms to refer to painkillers.

Painkillers or Opioids are drugs that contain opium or are derived from and imitate opium. They are prescribed for pain relief and are only available by prescription. Most opioid or painkilling drugs are non-refillable and, when used properly under a medical doctor's supervision, are safe and effective. Opioid drugs act by effectively changing the way a person experiences pain.

Morphine derivatives (or "narcotics") come from opioids and are used to therapeutically treat pain, suppress coughing, alleviate diarrhea, and induce anesthesia. When using these narcotics, abusers experience a general sense of well-being by reduced tension, anxiety, and aggression.

Some of the most well-known painkillers are listed below with the names you might find on a prescription label. Note that although painkillers have different potencies and are taken in different ways, when they are abused, all pose a risk for addiction and other serious effects.

Codeine: like morphine, this is found in opium, is weaker in action than morphine, and is used especially as a painkiller.

Fentanyl (and fentanyl analogs): a man-made opioid painkiller similar to morphine that is administered as a skin patch or orally.

Morphine: the powerful, active ingredient of opium is used as a painkiller and sedative.

Opium: from the opium poppy, formerly used in medicine to soothe pain but is now often replaced by derivative alkaloids (as morphine or codeine) or man-made substitutes (opioids).

Hydrocodone: often combined with acetaminophen for use as a painkiller. Vicodin is an example.

Oxycodone: a narcotic painkiller, for example OxyContin, Percocet, and Percodan.

Painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin are the prescription drugs most commonly abused by teens. Painkillers are also the most abused type of prescription drugs by 16- to 17-year-olds, followed by stimulants, tranquilizers, and sedatives.

There are several ways painkillers can be taken. Most teens report swallowing pills, but they can also be crushed and snorted for an intensified effect

The following are the signs and symptoms of painkillers effect:
-Short-term effects
Painkillers can cause drowsiness, inability to concentrate, apathy, lack of energy, constriction of the pupils, flushing of the face and neck, constipation, nausea, vomiting, and most significantly, respiratory depression.

-Long-term effects
If a teen abuses painkillers for a period of time, he can become addicted to the drug and experience withdrawal symptoms when he stops taking the drug. Associated with addiction is tolerance, which means more and more of the drug or a combination of drugs is needed to produce the same high or euphoric feeling, possibly leading to overdose.

Painkillers should not be used with alcohol, antihistamines, barbiturates, or benzodiazepines. Since these substances slow breathing, their combined effects could lead to life-threatening respiratory depression.Physical signs of painkiller overdose include pinpoint pupils, cold and clammy skin, confusion, convulsions, severe drowsiness, and slow or troubled breathing.