Opioid Addiction Drug Produces Risk For Children

Buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone or Subutex, is a safe and effective prescription medication used to treat an opiate addiction. With the knowledge of the efficiency behind this drug, prescribed use has also increased dramatically. With the number of household prescriptions in the cupboards, children are bound to be exposed to its domesticated presence. Because the users of this drug are not always properly educated to the ways of storing such a serious drug, there have been many accidents where children come in direct contact with buprenorphine. These accidents resulted in serious injury and even rare cases of fatality. Physicians have become more aware of this problem and have started to carefully educate their patients about the proper storage and use of buprenorphine. 

As previously mentioned, buprenorphine is highly sufficient in the treatment of opiate addictions. Opiates are drugs such as morphine, heroin, and codeine. These drugs are used both legally and illegally for alleviating pain and inducing sleep. They are extremely effective in those areas, but unfortunately, they are also extremely addictive. If an addict completely stops their continued use of an opiate substance, they will suffer from serious withdrawal symptoms. To help with those symptoms and allow the individual to continue in their normal, everyday life, buprenorphine is administered in a way that allows the individual to slowly come off their reliance on the drug. Buprenorphine is provided in many different forms such as pills, tablets, and patches. It is critical that adults who are prescribed with this drug understand how dangerous it is for children and learn how to properly store it.

There are many dangers associated with the exposure of buprenorphine to children. If a child puts the drug in their mouth/sucks on the drug, that absorption is more intense when compared to immediately swallowing it. Buprenorphine has the potential to cause delayed and persistent respiratory depression in children. This respiratory depression can last for more than 24 hours following consumption. Even if the majority of the drug has been removed from the child's mouth, the risk still remains. In children who are younger than 6 years old, some effects of the ingestion of buprenorphine include drowsiness, vomiting, contracting of the pupil, abmormally fast heartbeat, agitation, and serious respiratory depression.

If you have a child that has been exposed to buprenorphine, call your local poison control center immediately – do not wait for symptoms to appear. To avoid accidental exposure to this drug, keep it in a locked box, bag, or cabinet for safe storage. This way it will be out of sight and out of reach of children. Keep buprenorphine in is original, labeled prescription container with child resistant closure. This way, the child will know what it is (if they are old enough to read and comprehend), or at least that it's not for them. Do not leave your prescription out on the counters or tabletops for later use. Store immediately after using. Discard all empty containers/film wrapping appropriately.

Buprenorphine is an extremely effective and important drug when used for the right reasons. However, in the wrong hands, it could be seriously harmful and even fatal. Take extra care when using this drug – remember that you are responsible for this medication.