Why vicodin itchy

In recent years, Washington University researchers have identified a pathway in the spinal cord that transmits itch signals to the brain. Previously, many scientists thought of itch as a somewhat muted sensation of pain.

One reason that idea took hold is that when patients take drugs to relieve pain, itching often is a side effect. Now, studying itching induced by pain-killing drugs, the team of researchers has found that a different receptor is responsible for causing itch than for alleviating pain.

Some examples of CNS depressants are antihistamines or medicine for allergies or colds, sedatives, tranquilizers, or sleeping medicine, other prescription pain medicine or narcotics, medicine for seizures or barbiturates, muscle relaxants, or anesthetics numbing medicines , including some dental anesthetics.

Also, there may be a greater risk of liver damage if you drink three or more alcoholic beverages while you are taking acetaminophen. Do not drink alcoholic beverages, and check with your doctor before taking any of these medicines while you are using this medicine.

This medicine may be habit-forming. If you feel that the medicine is not working as well, do not use more than your prescribed dose. If you think you or someone else may have taken an overdose of this medicine, get emergency help at once.

Your doctor may also give naloxone to treat an overdose. Signs of an overdose include: cold, clammy skin, coughing that sometimes produces a pink frothy sputum, dark urine, difficult or trouble breathing, irregular, fast or slow, or shallow breathing, nausea, vomiting, pain in the upper stomach, pale or blue lips, fingernails, or skin, pinpoint pupils of the eyes, or yellow eyes or skin.

This medicine may cause sleep-related breathing problems eg, sleep apnea, sleep-related hypoxemia. Your doctor may decrease your dose if you have sleep apnea stop breathing for short periods during sleep while using this medicine. This medicine may cause adrenal gland problems. Check with your doctor right away if you have darkening of the skin, diarrhea, dizziness, fainting, loss of appetite, mental depression, nausea, skin rash, unusual tiredness or weakness, or vomiting.

Check with your doctor right away if you have pain or tenderness in the upper stomach, pale stools, dark urine, loss of appetite, nausea, unusual tiredness or weakness, or yellow eyes or skin.

These could be symptoms of a serious liver problem. This medicine may cause serious skin reactions eg, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis. Check with your doctor right away if you have blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, chills, cough, diarrhea, itching, joint or muscle pain, red irritated eyes, red skin lesions, often with a purple center, sore throat, sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

This medicine may cause a serious type of allergic reaction called anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention. Call your doctor right away if you have a rash, itching, hoarseness, trouble breathing, trouble swallowing, or any swelling of your hands, face, or mouth while you are using this medicine.

New data that was published in the Natural Chemical Biology journal suggests that some opioids can trigger an immune system response that affects one of the major receptor proteins on mast cell surfaces. Mast cells are an important part of the immune system, and they respond to certain inflammatory agents — like histamine — causing what appears to be an allergic reaction.

While it is still not well understood why some opiate narcotics lead to intense itching, it is known that some people have a more intense physical reaction than others. If you have been prescribed an opiate painkiller like codeine or morphine and you experience intense itching after taking the medication, it is a good idea to contact your healthcare provider immediately.

There are many safe alternatives when it comes to the effective treatment of moderate or severe pain. In some cases, an individual will continue to take an opiate medication despite the presence of uncomfortable physical side effects like itchy skin. If this is the case, it might be because an opioid abuse disorder is present.

If you believe that you or someone you love has been struggling with an opiate abuse disorder, there are several telltale symptoms to keep an eye out for, including:. Until recently, many experts had assumed that itching from opioids was unavoidable because it is a common side effect of drugs that interact with the nervous system.

The brain has four main types of receptors that respond to opioids, and every type has many structural variants, called isoforms. Most opioids are nonspecific, which means they bind to all the isoforms. This leads to powerful pain relief, although scientists do not know exactly why.

Louis showed that only one opioid receptor isoform is responsible for itching—and it is not involved in pain. Mice bred to have fewer of these particular receptors did not scratch themselves when given an opioid, but they did exhibit the telltale mouse signs of pain relief, such as less flinching when researchers flicked their tails.