Please enjoy our free resource for plain explanations of most health concerns. The Northeast Professional Home Care Knowldge Center is searchable, authoritatively sourced, constantly updated.
Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear. It can cause severe dizziness, a roaring sound in your ears called tinnitus, hearing loss that comes and goes and the feeling of ear pressure or pain. It usually affects just one ear. It is a common cause of hearing loss.
Attacks of dizziness may come on suddenly or after a short period of tinnitus or muffled hearing. Some people have single attacks of dizziness once in a while. Others may have many attacks close together over several days. Some people with Meniere's disease have "drop attacks" during which the dizziness is so bad they lose their balance and fall.
Scientists don't yet know the cause. They think that it has to do with the fluid levels or the mixing of fluids in the canals of your inner ear. Doctors diagnose it based on a physical exam and your symptoms. A hearing test can check to see how it has affected your hearing.
There is no cure. Treatments include medicines to control dizziness, limiting salt in your diet, and taking water pills. A device that fits into the outer ear and delivers air pulses to the middle ear can help. Severe cases may require surgery.
NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Any part of your neck - muscles, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, or nerves - can cause neck problems. Neck pain is very common. Pain may also come from your shoulder, jaw, head, or upper arms.
Muscle strain or tension often causes neck pain. The problem is usually overuse, such as from sitting at a computer for too long. Sometimes you can strain your neck muscles from sleeping in an awkward position or overdoing it during exercise. Falls or accidents, including car accidents, are another common cause of neck pain. Whiplash, a soft tissue injury to the neck, is also called neck sprain or strain.
Treatment depends on the cause, but may include applying ice, taking pain relievers, getting physical therapy or wearing a cervical collar. You rarely need surgery.
Health care workers are exposed to many job hazards. These can include :
Follow good job safety and injury prevention practices. They can reduce your risk of health problems. Use protective equipment, follow infection control guidelines, learn the right way to lift heavy objects, and find ways to manage stress.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
What are opioids?
Opioids, sometimes called narcotics, are a type of drug. They include strong prescription pain relievers, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and tramadol. The illegal drug heroin is also an opioid.
A health care provider may give you a prescription opioid to reduce pain after you have had a major injury or surgery. You may get them if you have severe pain from health conditions like cancer. Some health care providers prescribe them for chronic pain.
Prescription opioids used for pain relief are generally safe when taken for a short time and as prescribed by your provider. However, opioid use disorder (OUD) is still a possible risk.
What is opioid use disorder (OUD)?Opioid use disorder (OUD) means that you have a problematic pattern of using opioids. The pattern causes a lot of distress and impairment (meaning that it causes problems in and interferes with your daily life). Instead of OUD, sometimes people use the terms "opioid dependence" and "opioid addiction." Dependence means feeling withdrawal symptoms when not taking the drug. Addiction is a chronic brain disease that causes a person to compulsively seek out drugs, even though they cause harm.
What are the treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD)?Treatments for OUD include:
The medicines used in MOUD are methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone:
Methadone, buprenorphine, and lofexidine, which can decrease withdrawal symptoms and cravings. They work by acting on one or another of the targets in the brain that opioids act on. But these medicines are different because they do not make you feel high. Some people worry that if they take methadone or buprenorphine, it means that they are substituting one addiction for another. But it is not; these medicines are a treatment. They restore balance to the parts of the brain affected by addiction. This allows your brain to heal while you work toward recovery.
You may safely take these medicines for months, years, or even a lifetime. If you want to stop taking them, do not do it on your own. You should contact your provider first, and together you can work out a plan for stopping.
Naltrexone works differently than methadone and buprenorphine. It does not help you with withdrawal symptoms or cravings. Instead, it takes away the high that you would normally get when you take opioids. Because of this, you would take naltrexone to prevent a relapse, not to try to get off opioids. You have to be off opioids for at least 7-10 days before you can take naltrexone. Otherwise you could have bad withdrawal symptoms.
A combination drug that includes buprenorphine and naloxone. Naloxone is a drug to treat an opioid overdose. If you take it along with buprenorphine, you will be less likely to misuse the buprenorphine.
Counseling for OUD can help you:
There are different types of counseling for OUD, including:
Counselors can also refer you to other resources that you might need, such as:
Residential programs combine housing and treatment services. You are living with your peers, and you can support each other to stay in recovery. Inpatient hospital-based programs combine health care and OUD treatment services for people with medical problems. Hospitals may also offer intensive outpatient treatment. All these types of treatments are very structured, and usually include several different kinds of counseling and behavioral therapies. They usually also include MOUD.
What are opioids?
Opioids, sometimes called narcotics, are a type of drug. They include strong prescription pain relievers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and tramadol. The illegal drug heroin is also an opioid. Some opioids are made from the opium plant, and others are synthetic (man-made).
A health care provider may give you a prescription opioid to reduce pain after you have had a major injury or surgery. You may get them if you have severe pain from health conditions like cancer. Some providers prescribe them for chronic pain.
What are the side effects and risks of opioids?Opioids can cause side effects such as drowsiness, mental fog, nausea, and constipation. They may also cause slowed breathing, which can lead to overdose deaths. If someone has signs of an overdose, call 911. These signs may include:
When using opioids, there is also a risk of opioid use disorder (OUD).
What is opioid use disorder (OUD)?Opioid use disorder (OUD) means that you have a problematic pattern of using opioids. The pattern causes a lot of distress and impairment (meaning that it causes problems in and interferes with your daily life). Instead of OUD, sometimes people use the terms "opioid dependence" and "opioid addiction." Dependence means feeling withdrawal symptoms when not taking the drug. Addiction is a chronic brain disease that causes a person to compulsively seek out drugs, even though they cause harm.
The risk of OUD is higher if you misuse the medicines. Misuse can include taking more than your prescribed dose or taking it more often, using it to get high, or taking someone else's opioids.
Opioid use disorder and overdoses are serious public health problems in the United States. As more people misuse opioids, more women are misusing opioids during pregnancy. This can lead to health risks for the mother and baby. The baby may be born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS is a group of withdrawal symptoms that a baby has after being exposed to drugs during pregnancy.
Another problem with increased opioid misuse is that it can also lead to more heroin use. There are some people who switch from prescription opioids to heroin because heroin may be cheaper and easier to get.
How are opioid use disorder (OUD) and opioid overdose treated?There are effective medicines to treat OUD. Using medicines to treat OUD is called medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). MOUD can help you stop using the drug, get through withdrawal, and cope with cravings. It is often combined with behavioral therapy and counseling. Having support from family and friends can also help.
There is also a medicine called naloxone which can treat opioid overdoses. It can reverse the effects of the overdose and prevent death if it is given quickly.
How can I prevent problems when taking prescription opioids?To prevent problems with prescription opioids, be sure to follow your doctor's instructions when taking them. Do not share your medicines with anyone else. Contact your doctor if you have any concerns about taking the medicines.
NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse
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