Restricting Pain Relief !

It would be a rare Australian household that did not have some Panadeine or Neurofen Plus in the medicine cabinet.  Both are widely advertised for pain relief and top the list of "over the counter " remedies we find on the shelf in chemist shops.   They contain Codeine and it looks certain that they are about to become only available on production of a script from a doctor.

Codeine is getting a bad world press because it can be addictive. Restricting supply to a prescription requirement is already in place in the United States, Japan and parts of Europe.  Australia has already implementing a half measure.  There is a limit of how much may be purchased at one time and there is concern that some users may start to stockpile supplies knowing that this prescription only move is in the offing.

This drug is perfectly safe if used in moderation.   Hundreds of thousands of Australians pop a pill to deal with an occasional headache and this ban will reduce them to a less effective medication. There is also a danger that if there is demand for Codeine that is difficult to meet then this product will be added to the illicit drug supply regimen.    The law of supply and demand ensures that where demand exists - supply will surely follow.

No doubt the economy Mandarins will view this restriction with alarm.  There is every chance that it will result in a surge of patients seeing their doctor for a prescription and blowing out the health budget.  Not all patients have access to bulk billing and in many cases they pay eighty to ninety dollars for a GP visit.

The official reason for restricting Codeine to supply by prescription only is the risk factor involved in overuse.  When misused in conjunction with products containing paracetamol and ibuprofen they can deliver severe liver, kidney and stomach damage.  It is this addictive nature that worries health authorities.

They are also prone to a gender imbalance. A lot of women use this form of relief for painful periods and self medicate rather than seek professional help.   In some cases this can involve undiagnosed  endometriosis and should seeking a script bring this to the attention of a doctor it can lead to a permanent solution to the problem.  There is hope that requiring a prescription may break the self medication cycle for many people.

There is also a danger that this ban will result in a rash of "doctor shopping ".  Some doctors and specially bulk billing medical clinics are known for granting the patients wishes without an indepth medical examination.  Those determined to achieve supply often have a regular pattern of visits for the sole purpose of obtaining scripts - which are processed at widely dispersed pharmacies.

Restricting Codeine to prescription dispensing will certainly help in reducing addiction, but it will deny a useful product to those with intermittent migraine, tension headaches and musculoskeletal pain and force them to use a less effective medication.

Such is the way of modern medicine and addiction problems !