Vicodin of hydrocodone has been an opioid painkiller used for treating moderate to severe pain. It would often be prescribed to people suffering from chronic pain or back pain. The drug was prescribed for a significant length of time that it began to be trafficked in black markets and abused worldwide. Most people started using the drug without a prescription for its relaxing and pleasant effects. As a result, people had started becoming addicted to its opioid properties. In this article we will see How long does Vicodin stay in your System ?
Moreover, with the growing abuse, overdose deaths linked with Vicodin began to spike. The hydrocodone in the medication, the opioid aspect would slow down the heart and breathing rates. It would be especially dealt with combined with alcohol; breathing could slow to the point that not adequate oxygen would reach the brain, leading to brain damage, coma, and death. Simultaneously, Vicodin comprises a higher dosage of acetaminophen, also known as the brand name Tylenol. It would be too much to take Tylenol at once. It could cause liver damage and acute liver failure.
How long would Vicodin stay in your system?
The question to ponder upon would be how long does vicodin stay in your system. The opioid effects of vicodin tend to last for more than 4 hours. However, traces of the drug would stay in the body for several days. It could be detected in the hair for months. The exact amount of time it takes Vicodin to be eliminated out of the system based on several aspects inclusive of body fat content, body mass, age, liver health, amount of last dose taken, presence of other drugs in the system, and how long has you been taking the drug.
Vicodin and drug tests
A standard dose of hydrocodone has a half-life of nearly 3.8 hours. It implies that it would take nearly 3.8 hours for half of the dose to eliminate from an average body. Therefore, it would take nearly 6-12 hours for withdrawal symptoms to appear if physical addiction has developed. However, saliva tests could only detect the last traces of Vicodin for 12-36 hours after consumption of the last dose. Urine tests have been relatively more effective and could detect the drug for 2-4 days. Blood tests would not work for the substance. These time limits have been extended for heavy and chronic users. Moreover, all opioids could be found in the hair follicles for nearly 90 days after the last dose. However, the use of hair tests has been uncommon.
Due to the detrimental effects and dangers of Vicodin, addiction to this drug has been a relatively serious matter. Without overdose, the high amount of acetaminophen blended with the opioid has been hard on the liver. With passage of time, scarring, inflammation, and damage of the liver could occur. It would result into a life threatening medical condition. The slowing of the respiratory and digestive systems could cause intestinal damage and chronic constipation along with leaving the individual susceptible to lung problems and respiratory infections.
Determine the duration of Vicodin in the body
When people determine the length of time Vicodin sends in the system, they should keep several things in the mind. It would be pertinent to mention here that no precise timeline fits everyone. Several aspects would affect how long the drug would stay in their system after use. For instance, the larger dose of Vicodin taken by the people would stay in their system for a significant length of time. The reason has been that hydrocodone builds up with time. Moreover, their level of hydration affects the timeline. When you intake more water, it would be relatively harder to detect the drug in the urine.
People would be required to consider the fat and body mass of every person. The body has been known to store Vicodin in fatty tissues. People with more body fat could show signs of Vicodin use for a significant length of time compared to the one with less body fat.
How would Vicodin affect the body?
The main ingredient of Vicodin has been hydrocodone. This narcotic analgesic would connect to the part of the cells in the brain and spinal cord known as opioid receptors. It would be pertinent to mention here that opioids receptors would interfere with the pain signals on their way to the brain. It would help change the perception of pain along with an emotional reaction of the person towards it. The feeling of ecstasy could easily become addictive, leading several people to use more Vicodin for a significant length of time than prescribed. With time, the body might require more Vicodin to reach the same effects.
Side effects linked to Vicodin have been inclusive of nausea, constipation, vomiting, dizziness, lightheadedness, and drowsiness. Drug interactions would be possible when taking Vicodin with alcohol, opioid antagonists, cough and cold relief medications, drugs for anxiety or sleeping issues, and muscle relaxants.
These interactions could affect how the medications would work and put individuals at an enhanced risk for serious side effects. The more serious side effects would be inclusive of slow or shallow breathing, liver damage or failure, and drowsiness or dizziness.
Vicodin overdose
A Vicodin overdose could occur when someone intentionally or intentionally takes too much of the drug or combines Vicodin with other drugs. There have been several reasons why someone might take excessive Vicodin accidentally and deliberately. For example, they could look forward to hurting themselves or they might be addicted to Vicodin.
Vicodin addition has been a serious matter causing detrimental and dangerous effects. Without an overdose, a higher amount of acetaminophen in Vicodin combined with hydrocodone could be extremely hard on the liver when consumed in large quantities. With passage of time, it could cause scarring, inflammation, and permanent liver damage. Moreover, the slowing of the respiratory and digestive systems could also cause intestinal damage and chronic constipation, leaving the individual vulnerable to lung problems and respiratory infections.
The Vicodin overdose symptoms would be inclusive of nausea, vomiting, pinpoint pupils, weak pulse, low blood pressure, coma, drowsiness, difficulty breathing, and more.
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Prof. Venkata Kiran Kumar Mandlem is Head Of Department in CMR College of pharmacy Hyderabad . He Completed PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Andhra University . More info about him MV Kiran Linkedin