Morphine does not speed up death although morphine does relieve pain and help make the death more peaceful when given to a dying patient.
It's a misconception that when given morphine the patient dies sooner but it's not the case as morphine when used properly and in the correct doses does not speed up death and only makes more a less painful and more peaceful death.
Near the end of life, the breathing rate of a dying person can fluctuate and become irregular.
Periods of rapid breathing, and no breathing for brief periods of time, coughing or noisy breaths, or increasingly shallow respirations, especially in final hours or days of life are normal.
Common drugs used for patients during the end of life include morphine, midazolam, haloperidol, and an antimuscarinic drugs.
Morphine is a non-synthetic narcotic with a high potential for abuse and is derived from opium.
The drug morphine is used for the treatment of pain.
In the United States, a small percentage of the morphine obtained from opium is used directly for pharmaceutical products.
When you first take morphine, you might feel sleepy or sick.
But this side effect will wear off after a few days as your body gets used to the medicine.
You might also notice you are less alert. Do not drive, cycle or operate machinery if you feel sleepy or less alert.
Morphine is considered the classic opioid analgesic with which other painkillers are compared.
Like other medications in this class, morphine has an affinity for delta, kappa, and mu-opioid receptors.