Prescription opioid deaths have quadrupled since 1999, yet even as the heartbreaking effect of the opioid epidemic increases, Americans are holding on to – and sharing – their pills.

A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health survey found that 60 percent of American adults prescribed opioids keep leftover pills, and 1 in 5 reported sharing their medication with someone else.

“Until recently, we have treated these medications like they’re not dangerous,” said the study’s senior author Colleen L. Barry, PhD, MPP, in ScienceDaily. “But the public, the medical community, and policymakers are now beginning to understand that these are dangerous medications and need to be treated as such. If we don’t change our approach, we are going to continue to see the epidemic grow.”

Barry told Kaiser Health News that prescribers and the public need to remember that prescription opioids “are not like Tylenol – these are highly addictive meds.”

The US Food and Drug Administration has recommendations for safe disposal of medicine, including drug take-back days.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that the United States is in the midst of a “prescription painkiller overdose epidemic” and recommends safe alternatives like physical therapy for most pain management.

The American Physical Therapy Association launched a national campaign to raise awareness about the risks of opioids and the safe alternative of physical therapy for long-term pain management. Learn more at www.apta.org.

Chautauqua Physical & Occupational Therapy is located inside the Riverwalk Center, 15 S. Main St. Suite 220, Jamestown, NY 14701 – 488-2322 – www.chautauquapt.com. We are celebrating 20 years of serving our community and are the only outpatient clinic in the area to offer FREE consultations. We are therapist owned and operated. The Live Well Center is our fitness center located on site. It is open to the public, clean and affordable. Call us to learn more about therapy or the Live Well Center and take charge of your health.