Safer, More Effective Pain Management | Prescription Drug Overdose | CDC Injury Center

Safer, More Effective Pain Management | Prescription Drug Overdose | CDC Injury Center

Safer, More Effective Pain Management

How to Manage Your Pain Safely and Effectively

Sometimes the prescription becomes the problem. 

We need to change the way we treat pain.

How to talk to your doctor about treating your pain

Static Prescribing Rate, Fewer Deaths

Responsible prescribing can save lives. Prescribing rates have leveled off since 2010, and we’ve recently seen the first decline in prescription painkiller-related deaths in decades.

Prescribing guidelines

More Prescription Painkillers, Same Pain

From 1999 to 2013, the amount of prescription painkillers prescribed and sold in the U.S. nearly quadrupled, yet there has not been an overall change in the amount of pain that Americans report.

Prescribing data

More Prescription Painkillers, More Deaths

Overprescribing leads to more abuse and more overdose. Overdose rates are higher in states where prescription painkillers are prescribed more frequently.

Overdose rates

  Information for the Public       Information for Providers      Information for States       Data

When the Prescription Becomes the Problem

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