Healthcare CaseEssay Preview: Healthcare CaseReport this essayChemistry Paper 2The chemistry in health and medicine is a forever expanding topic. The chemistry of life becomes very interesting when you look into the chemistry of our very own human body. The precise elements that make up human physiology each provide a specific function and purpose. The modern developments and research in medicine has greatly influenced human health and is continuing to grow.
The human body can seem rather complicated, however it is very clear as to what our body consists of and what their function involves. Our complex body is really made mostly of only four elements making up about 96 percent of it. These elements include oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, most of which is in the form of water. As we know, there would be no life without water. The remaining percentage consists of other elements including calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron and about a handful of others. As stated earlier, each of these elements provide specific functions in the body. Calcium, for example, is found mostly in teeth and bones, but its main bodily function is used for muscle contractions and in the regulation of proteins. Electrolytes such as sodium and potassium send electrical signals to nerves for cellular chemical balance and cellular metabolism. Iron is found in hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood. Magnesium is necessary for hundreds of metabolic reactions as well as its role in the structure of muscles and the skeleton. Any deficiency in just one of these elements can seriously tamper with your normal bodily functions and can eventually lead to complete system failure and death.
Drugs are chemicals that alter the structure or function in our body, or in other words, changes the way our body works. Medical drugs can help people in ways such as getting rid of infection, lowering blood pressure, and slowing down or even preventing diseases. People suffering from diabetes have high glucose levels in their bloodstream preventing glucose from entering into the cell like it is supposed to. To keep the glucose levels down, diabetes patients must take oral medication. Aspirin is an over the counter medication that is used to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation. Aspirin is also used to treat and prevent cardiovascular conditions such as heart attack, angina, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Vaccines have been developed to help improve immunity for a particular disease by producing antibodies that will protect the body from its invasion.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, was also used to defeat the World Health Organization (WHO). In 1991, it was used to kill 8,000 people in Oklahoma; in 1999, it was used in the U.S.-Mexico border to kill 9,000 more, and last July, it was used to kill 5,000 people. The United States has the highest murder rate in the world while heroin is only five times the rate of cocaine. As much as 1.6 million Americans, approximately six percent of the American population, died because of opioid overdoses from 2004 through 2016.[1] The opioid epidemic of the last few years has resulted in at least 20 deaths to date and many more are due to heroin overdose. Due to increased access, there are a vast number of individuals across the country who are at risk of overdoses. Many people with heroin are still in treatment and need intensive treatment. With opioids, they still can be a very effective source of painkillers especially to fight off infection[2] While heroin, like other drug substances is also produced when the body is exposed to some kind of environmental stress like dust, people who inject drugs on themselves must also provide the rest to maintain their state of health. However, some researchers suspect that some of the most dangerous overdoses occur because of chemical reactions that occur in those who inject heroin. Such reactions could be those that cause an allergic reaction, or may cause a person to faint. According to the World Health Organization, the majority of those with severe overdoses are males, and the vast majority of those with mild overdoses are females. A report by the University of Maryland, for instance, states that over the last 20 years, more than 600,000 heroin overdoses have been reported. Over the past 10 years there has been a 33 percent increase in the deaths from heroin overdoses within the United States and the United Kingdom. The CDC notes that heroin consumed by users is the largest source of death from opioids for the U.S.—more than one million Americans are addicted to heroin daily. The U.S. consumes about 15 percent of all heroin consumed worldwide[3], and half of that heroin comes from synthetic opioid abusers.[4]
The dangers of marijuana in the form of heroin are not new. Several years ago, researchers reported a decrease in the number of heroin users in the U.S., especially in states where marijuana was legal. However in the last decade, there has been a dramatic drop in the number of people who used heroin or other opiates, especially heroin. The decline in numbers from the beginning of 2014 through late 2015 is alarming. The researchers point out that it became a major cause of opioid death worldwide in 2016 because of marijuana use and other drugs with high potency. As of October 6, 2016 in the United Kingdom, 1,070 people had died due to opioids, representing 5.9 percent of the whole country. The United Kingdom has the highest death rate among developed countries compared to any other country.[5] The United States is also home to the top 50 opiate and heroin addiction states according to their statistics.[6]
Using the data presented here the researchers argue that a number of factors are responsible in this fall in opioid use in the United Kingdom. The researchers note that alcohol, caffeine, the diet, and the obesity rates of young people and young couples are also factors that increase the use of opiates. In addition, a drop in heroin users in the U.K. has been linked to the emergence of marijuana dispensaries. Researchers stress in the research that while many of the states with the highest levels of adult smoking marijuana are, in effect, still experiencing a decline in marijuana use, there have been major changes in those habits for the last 15 to 20 years. These changes are most likely to increase the cost of treatment, which has led a population to become less willing to buy these drugs.[7] The research suggests that a decline in the number of users of heroin or other drug related substances (including prescription narcotics) in the United Kingdom could be attributed to the increased use of these drugs and the increased demand to make heroin available to those with prescription opiates.
In the United States, there is substantial uncertainty in the number of heroin users and prescription opioid prescriptions for people in the country. Research has shown that the use of heroin and prescription opioids are the major sources of heroin overdoses, and the numbers have steadily risen in recent years. There are many factors that influence the percentage of heroin users in the country—for instance, other factors such as the availability and use of opioids and alcohol that can affect that use—and it takes a small percentage of people for overdoses to occur. One reason for this decrease is that opioids have had a devastating effect on the number of Americans with opioid dependence. The amount of heroin in the United States is far more than that in most developed countries. It has had an effect on the number of users of opioids, which are more likely to die of overdose, for example, than heroin and crack, and the amount used is significantly more than that of crack. In 2014, more than 1 in 5 people (18 percent) were under the age of 18 years old, and more than 35 percent (48 percent) were at least 25 years of age. That is a difference of 1.5 percentage points. In the last year a whopping 16,000 opioid deaths (1.2 billion Americans) were linked in the United States to overdoses from opioid use. The number of deaths attributed to drug use is also significantly lower than that of heroin or any other drug related substance. A 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)’s analysis of drug use estimates from over 2000 to 2015 also found that about one-third of the heroin users in the country are under the age of 50, down from 3 percent in 2006 before.
The findings of the NSDUH and the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, published March 25, 2016 in the American Journal of Public Health is not definitive. In order to give an independent estimate of the number of heroin and opioid deaths in the United States, researchers rely on a sampling of the entire population over a 20-year period. In some instances, as of December 2013, there is a much broader decline of heroin and opioid use than there has been in 10 of the last 14 decades.[8] Despite this decline, many people are still attempting to get their heroin or other drug from the supply store and in some cases, buying from pharmacies, but this has also led to a significant fall of the number of people with heroin or other drug related substance usage and drug use. The authors argue that the national prevalence of heroin and opioid use has increased
With more arrests and incarceration due to both the opiate epidemic now in its eighth incarnation as an epidemic, and the increasing use of opiate pain killers, the need for drug rehabilitation to help addicts is growing.[7]
Why did the majority of overdose deaths occur in a depressed state like New Hampshire
In Massachusetts, the average daily rate of overdose is 1.22 mg or 0.28 of an opioid
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, was also used to defeat the World Health Organization (WHO). In 1991, it was used to kill 8,000 people in Oklahoma; in 1999, it was used in the U.S.-Mexico border to kill 9,000 more, and last July, it was used to kill 5,000 people. The United States has the highest murder rate in the world while heroin is only five times the rate of cocaine. As much as 1.6 million Americans, approximately six percent of the American population, died because of opioid overdoses from 2004 through 2016.[1] The opioid epidemic of the last few years has resulted in at least 20 deaths to date and many more are due to heroin overdose. Due to increased access, there are a vast number of individuals across the country who are at risk of overdoses. Many people with heroin are still in treatment and need intensive treatment. With opioids, they still can be a very effective source of painkillers especially to fight off infection[2] While heroin, like other drug substances is also produced when the body is exposed to some kind of environmental stress like dust, people who inject drugs on themselves must also provide the rest to maintain their state of health. However, some researchers suspect that some of the most dangerous overdoses occur because of chemical reactions that occur in those who inject heroin. Such reactions could be those that cause an allergic reaction, or may cause a person to faint. According to the World Health Organization, the majority of those with severe overdoses are males, and the vast majority of those with mild overdoses are females. A report by the University of Maryland, for instance, states that over the last 20 years, more than 600,000 heroin overdoses have been reported. Over the past 10 years there has been a 33 percent increase in the deaths from heroin overdoses within the United States and the United Kingdom. The CDC notes that heroin consumed by users is the largest source of death from opioids for the U.S.—more than one million Americans are addicted to heroin daily. The U.S. consumes about 15 percent of all heroin consumed worldwide[3], and half of that heroin comes from synthetic opioid abusers.[4]
The dangers of marijuana in the form of heroin are not new. Several years ago, researchers reported a decrease in the number of heroin users in the U.S., especially in states where marijuana was legal. However in the last decade, there has been a dramatic drop in the number of people who used heroin or other opiates, especially heroin. The decline in numbers from the beginning of 2014 through late 2015 is alarming. The researchers point out that it became a major cause of opioid death worldwide in 2016 because of marijuana use and other drugs with high potency. As of October 6, 2016 in the United Kingdom, 1,070 people had died due to opioids, representing 5.9 percent of the whole country. The United Kingdom has the highest death rate among developed countries compared to any other country.[5] The United States is also home to the top 50 opiate and heroin addiction states according to their statistics.[6]
Using the data presented here the researchers argue that a number of factors are responsible in this fall in opioid use in the United Kingdom. The researchers note that alcohol, caffeine, the diet, and the obesity rates of young people and young couples are also factors that increase the use of opiates. In addition, a drop in heroin users in the U.K. has been linked to the emergence of marijuana dispensaries. Researchers stress in the research that while many of the states with the highest levels of adult smoking marijuana are, in effect, still experiencing a decline in marijuana use, there have been major changes in those habits for the last 15 to 20 years. These changes are most likely to increase the cost of treatment, which has led a population to become less willing to buy these drugs.[7] The research suggests that a decline in the number of users of heroin or other drug related substances (including prescription narcotics) in the United Kingdom could be attributed to the increased use of these drugs and the increased demand to make heroin available to those with prescription opiates.
In the United States, there is substantial uncertainty in the number of heroin users and prescription opioid prescriptions for people in the country. Research has shown that the use of heroin and prescription opioids are the major sources of heroin overdoses, and the numbers have steadily risen in recent years. There are many factors that influence the percentage of heroin users in the country—for instance, other factors such as the availability and use of opioids and alcohol that can affect that use—and it takes a small percentage of people for overdoses to occur. One reason for this decrease is that opioids have had a devastating effect on the number of Americans with opioid dependence. The amount of heroin in the United States is far more than that in most developed countries. It has had an effect on the number of users of opioids, which are more likely to die of overdose, for example, than heroin and crack, and the amount used is significantly more than that of crack. In 2014, more than 1 in 5 people (18 percent) were under the age of 18 years old, and more than 35 percent (48 percent) were at least 25 years of age. That is a difference of 1.5 percentage points. In the last year a whopping 16,000 opioid deaths (1.2 billion Americans) were linked in the United States to overdoses from opioid use. The number of deaths attributed to drug use is also significantly lower than that of heroin or any other drug related substance. A 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)’s analysis of drug use estimates from over 2000 to 2015 also found that about one-third of the heroin users in the country are under the age of 50, down from 3 percent in 2006 before.
The findings of the NSDUH and the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, published March 25, 2016 in the American Journal of Public Health is not definitive. In order to give an independent estimate of the number of heroin and opioid deaths in the United States, researchers rely on a sampling of the entire population over a 20-year period. In some instances, as of December 2013, there is a much broader decline of heroin and opioid use than there has been in 10 of the last 14 decades.[8] Despite this decline, many people are still attempting to get their heroin or other drug from the supply store and in some cases, buying from pharmacies, but this has also led to a significant fall of the number of people with heroin or other drug related substance usage and drug use. The authors argue that the national prevalence of heroin and opioid use has increased
With more arrests and incarceration due to both the opiate epidemic now in its eighth incarnation as an epidemic, and the increasing use of opiate pain killers, the need for drug rehabilitation to help addicts is growing.[7]
Why did the majority of overdose deaths occur in a depressed state like New Hampshire
In Massachusetts, the average daily rate of overdose is 1.22 mg or 0.28 of an opioid
Psychoactive drugs are capable of altering feelings, moods, and perceptions. Psychoactive drugs work by targeting the central nervous system. Normal nerve activity works by neurotransmitters delivering chemical messages across the synapse and into the neuron cell. Once the neurotransmitter deliver the message than it is sent back to its original axon or is destroyed. Psychoactive drugs alter this activity by actually preventing the neurotransmitters from entering the neuron cleft causing continuous