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What
is Codeine and its HIstory
Codeine has a long history of use beginning with the discovery of
the opium bearing flower Papaver Somniferum otherwise known
as the opium poppy. The raw opium paste was extracted from the pod
of the flower and taken as tea for both recreational and medicinal
uses. It was known for some time that raw opium extract when taken
oraly damaged the liver but codeine, which is part of the opium
extract, is converted to the brain by the way of the gastrointestinal
tract, avoiding the liver entirely.
It
is prescribed to relieve mild to moderate pain and also to reduce
coughing. In addition to that it has other uses.
Codeine
and other opiates work by absorbing into the body and transforming
into endorphins in the brain. The endorphins affect the pain receptors
in the brain and so it is used as a pain medication.
The
form taken by codeine medication is usually that of a pill, capsule
or liquid. The pills form can be found along another analgesic such
as tylenol, aspirin and ibuprofen among others
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