Painkillers Prescribed to Children

Oxycontin approved for children 11 -16

In August of 2015, the Food and Drug Administration approved the powerful narcotic painkiller, Oxycontin for children ages 11-16. Since that point, there has been a great deal of controversy and criticism. People in all fields, from doctors and lawmakers to parents and civilians, have expressed their concerns because of the high risk of addiction and the devastating rates of opioid overdose. They have a right to be apprehensive about allowing a child to consume such a drug with the growing rate of Oxycontin addicts.

Oxycontin is an extended-release version of a pain pill called oxycodone. It is one of the most notorious drugs, due to the fact that so many struggle with abuse while using this painkiller. It can be ingested orally, but when that stops giving the same intense high it once did, those who abuse it result to crushing the pill for snorting or injecting it.

The FDA contacted Purdue Pharma and asked them to perform studies on children to see if the drug could be safely given to a child as young as 11 years old to help them deal with severe pain from cancer, trauma or a major surgery. This study included giving a child up to 20 milligrams of opiate painkillers to see if they could sustain taking Oxycontin.

While some doctors who treat young cancer patients are ecstatic that this has come about, some are against the idea of giving children one of the most potent and addictive drugs that is out there. They are being exposed to the life of addiction at a young age. Many adults have difficulty being in control of this drug. It quickly and efficiently takes all control of a person and leaves them with an addiction that is nearly impossible to stop without serious effort and a rehabilitation program.

There are many warnings about addiction, abuse and misuse. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, doctors in the United States prescribed enough painkillers in 2010 to “medicate every American adult around-the-clock for a month.” Studies show that a child or teenager who is prescribed a narcotic painkiller will likely become an addict later in life.

Prescribing Oxycontin for a child battling cancer and who may not have long to live may be an understandable exception to this. But a child who has had a major surgery or some kind of trauma may be predisposed to a life of addiction when there are many other suitable pain killers that could relieve pain without such a high risk of addiction.

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