Hydrocodone: uses in therapy, characteristics and side effects

Many substances can be classified as pharmaceuticals or drugs, depending on their use, their addictive potential, their effects, and other characteristics. Although the essential difference between the two is that a drug has a therapeutic use, and a drug does not.

In this article we will know about hydrocodone, a semi-synthetic opioid. We will talk about the differences between opium and opiate, we will compare hydrocodone with other substances, and we will see what uses and effects this type of opiate has, in addition to its side effects.

• Related article: "Types of psychoactive drugs: uses and side effects"

Hydrocodone: drug or drug?

What we mentioned in relation to the difference between a drug and a drug is what happens with hydrocodone, a semi-synthetic opiate that is made from a substance derived from opium called codeine. Opium, as we will see later, includes substances that come from a plant called opium poppy.

Thus, hydrocodone can be used as a drug and as a drug. this substance produces analgesic and pleasurable effects

, and can be used to treat pain, or for recreational use, having significant addictive potential.

• You may be interested in: "Addiction to opioid drugs"

Origin of the substance

Hydrocodone is a semi-synthetic (man-made) opioid, and is synthesized in laboratories. That is to say, it is not natural, it is not obtained directly from opium, but it is synthesized.

It is made in laboratory settings from codeine; Codeine, also called methylmorphine, is an alkaloid (a type of substance) found in opium (the Opium encompasses a series of substances that are extracted from a plant, and that we will know throughout this article).

Hydrocodone began to be used in the US in 1943. However, yesIts use is controlled and restricted, since it is a substance with a very high potential for abuse. This is thanks to its inclusion in the Controlled Substances Law, 5 years ago, in 2014.

Its addictive potential is high, and that is why its use must be controlled well and if it is taken, take it with great caution. It is for all these reasons that hydrocodone only supplied by prescription. However, despite being a very addictive drug and with side effects that can be lethal, this substance is increasingly consumed in the US.

Characteristics

As we have seen, hydrocodone is synthesized in a laboratory from a natural opioid that we obtain from the opium poppy plant (from its seeds). Its main therapeutic indication is pain treatment.. Also, interestingly, hydrocodone can also be used for coughs.

On a chemical level, it derives from codeine, an alkaloid substance that we can find in opium. Regarding its format and routes of administration, we can find hydrocodone in different formats: in pills, capsules or in syrup. Thus, it is usually administered orally.

Comparison with other substances

If we compare it with morphine, the quintessential opioid pain reliever, we found hydrocodone to be slightly less potent in terms of pain reduction (although the difference is minimal).

On the other hand, in comparison with codeine, the substance from which the hydrocodone, we see how hydrocodone is slightly more powerful than this, and they demonstrate it certain studies.

• Related article: "Morphine: characteristics and effects in the short and long term"

Effects on the organism

But... What effects does hydrocodone produce, besides reducing or eliminating pain? It also generates a pleasant effect, like "happiness", as well as a pleasant feeling that can even reach euphoria, a feeling of tranquility, etc. All this makes it become an addictive substance and it becomes a drug, because people tend to become addicted to pleasure.

In addition, hydrocodone also exhibits some of the effects of heroin, another semi-synthetic opiate that is also one of the most addictive drugs.

Finally, and as we have mentioned, it also produces an effect in relieving coughing that also occurs in codeine.

Side effects

As we have seen, hydrocodone is a substance that can be used as a drug to reduce pain, but also as a drug, and when its use becomes abusive and additive, it ends up being harmful to the person. Thus, it is a substance that can potentially be dangerous, as we will see below.

Like any drug and like any drug, hydrocodone can cause certain side effects. Generally, these are nausea and vomiting, constipation, tiredness, and euphoric symptoms. In severe cases, breathing difficulties may appear..

Combination with other substances

side effects of hydrocodone they can be even more serious if their use is combined with other substances, medicines or drugs. In this way, if we combine hydrocodone with other drugs such as alcohol, barbiturates, cocaine or amphetamines, it can cause significant heart, lung and kidney failure.

On the other hand, it can also cause heart attacks, amnesic symptoms, coma, or even death.

What is opium?

As we have seen, hydrocodone comes from codeine, which in turn is part of opium. Opium includes opioids obtained from the opium poppy., a plant; its scientific name is Papaver somniferum. Specifically, the substances are obtained from its seeds.

The effects produced by opium are basically of three types: analgesic effects (reduces pain), pleasant effects (or a feeling of peace and tranquility) and euphoric effects.

What is opium used for? Medicines can be created from its compounds, used especially in treatments that cause pain. such as cancer treatments. It is also used to create addictive drugs, such as heroin.

Differences between opium and opiate

We have seen how opium is a natural substance from the seeds of a plant, which also has analgesic properties. Opiates, such as hydrocodone, on the other hand, are psychoactive chemicals that are derived from opium. They have effects similar to opiums, producing a state of happiness, calm and reducing the person's pain.

Opioids can be of two types: endogenous (those synthesized by the body itself naturally, through the Central Nervous System [CNS]) or exogenous. Exogenous opioids try to mimic the effect of endogenous opioids, and are divided into three subtypes (where we will find hydrocodone): natural, semi-synthetic, and synthetic.

1. Natural exogenous opioids

Natural exogenous opiates are extracted directly from the opium plant (the poppy or royal poppy). In this group we find morphine, widely known, and also codeine and thebaine..

On a chemical level, these are the alkaloids (a type of substance) of opium.

2. Semi-synthetic exogenous opioids

Semi-synthetic exogenous opioids, also called artificial opioids, are synthesized in laboratories. Hydrocodone is part of this group., a semi-synthetic opioid. But how are they made? From the previous opiates, the natural ones and those that we extract directly from the opium plant.

Specifically, hydrocodone is synthesized from codeine, an alkaloid substance found in opium.

Another well-known semi-synthetic opiate, and used as a psychoactive drug, is heroin, which is synthesized from morphine.

Finally, we found a third artificial opioid: the oxycodone, made from thebaine (another alkaloid from opium).

3. Synthetic exogenous opioids

Finally, synthetic exogenous opioids are more artificial than the previous ones, and who intend to imitate its effect. The difference with semisynthetic opiates such as hydrocodone is that its structure has nothing to do with opium alkaloids, unlike semisynthetics. Some examples of synthetic opioids are methadone and pethidine.

Methadone, for its part, is widely known for being used as a drug for the detoxification processes of people addicted to opiates (as maintenance treatment). Broadly speaking, what it does is simulate the effect of the drug without causing the damage that it produces.