Morphine - How Is It Taken?

How Is It Taken?

Prescription morphine comes in many forms. As morphine sulfate and morphine hydrochloride, it is a liquid injected into veins. As Duramorph, it is a liquid injected into the fluid surrounding the spine. This type of injection is called an epidural. Duramorph is used in childbirth and some forms of surgery that can be performed while a patient is awake. Morphine pills of various strengths are also available and are prescribed for cancer pain, back pain, recovery from surgical procedures, and occasionally migraine headaches. The drug can also be found in rectal suppositoriesMedicine that is delivered through the anus.. The latter form of morphine is usually given to people suffering from nausea. A liquid form of morphine is available for oral use among patients who have difficulty swallowing pills.

Some patients use morphine pumps. These come in two forms. Either the patient is hooked up to a needle (IV) and can press a button to increase the flow of morphine through the needle, or a morphine dispenser is implanted under the skin, releasing a set dose of the medicine at hourly intervals. The pumps are usually programmed so that a patient cannot receive too much morphine and overdose. Too much morphine can lead to death by stopping a patient's breathing.

Morphine is usually sold illegally on the street in its pill forms. Users crush the pills and snort, smoke, or inject them.

A man addicted to morphine is shown in a hospital setting in the late 1940s. He yawns and gasps for air as he experiences severe withdrawal from the drug. Photo by Ralph Morse/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images.
A man addicted to morphine is shown in a hospital setting in the late 1940s. He yawns and gasps for air as he experiences severe withdrawal from the drug. Photo by Ralph Morse/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images.