By Carolyn Krause, The Oak Ridger, October 2, 2019
A teenaged girl suffers a knee injury while playing varsity basketball and has an operation. About the same time her older brother has his four wisdom teeth extracted.
To block their pain, her surgeon and his dentist prescribe hydrocodone, a powerful narcotic pill. Their parents, who never took such potent painkillers when their wisdom teeth were removed, worry that the opioids their kids are taking might lead them down the path to drug addiction and even drug overdose deaths.
Is there a safe, effective non-addictive alternative for providing pain relief? Yes, there is, said Catherine Brunson, regional overdose prevention specialist of Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) of Anderson County. She spoke during the third opioid crisis forum co-sponsored by Oak Valley Baptist Church and First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge.
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