The Medical Progression of Pain Management

The Sumerians of Mesopotamia were the first to write down the usage of pain medication. With ideograph, they explained the growing and usage of opium. They named the poppies, "Hul Gil" which translations to mean "joy plant."

The Greek culture were the first to record the usage of pain medication for both medical and recreational purposes. In their culture, they used opium for pleasure and not just for the sake of medicine.

Considered by many to be the father of modern medicine, Hippocrates advanced the medical field by creating some of the first pain management supplements. Using the powder of some bark and willow tree leaves, this advancement helped aid against headache pains.

Morphine was first extracted by the German doctor Friedrich Serturner. He discovered that this opioid analgesic could be extracted from opium.

The same people who refined the dosage of aspirin, also helped heroin be sold to the public. This drug was at this time thought of to be non-addictive.

Bayer created a better alternative form of salicylic acid. This was created from a coal tar waste and was proven to be better for the body than the willow bark. With less side effects, this medication went on the market and was called Aspirin.

Heroin was discovered to be more potent than doctors originally believed, and was acknowledged as being an addictive drug

McNeil Laborites began mass producing Tylenol and selling it to the general public. Tylenol was seen by the public to be a safer alternative to handling pain in the stomach and was seen as a better option than taking aspirin. This belief was because of the fear of the effects that Aspirin had on the stomach.

Chronic pain was increasingly being treated by opioid and is on steady rise even in 2014. This rise began in 1990 and hasn't stopped since. For every medical purpose that the opioids serve, there is more accessibility for people to obtain these opioids and consume them for recreational purposes.

Acetaminophen is generally added to other prescription medicine to create some name brand medication which include, Percocet, Vicodin, and Tylenol. The FDA commanded that there would be a new limit of acetaminophen dosage to 325 milligrams and to clearly label that acetaminophen was a present ingredient, since it was being linked to liver damage. The dosage had previously been 750 milligrams of acetaminophen.