Debunking the Myth of Sulfa Drugs and the Administration of Morphine
~Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity ~Martin Luther King Jr. In today’s society of Emergency Medical care, it is very common to treat patients that have an allergy to sulfa drugs. Most ambulance in the 21 st century carries several different types of drugs to treat patient’s medical problems or pain, whether acute or chronic. One of those many drugs that are carried is Morphine Sulfate. Morphine is a wonderful analgesic pain medication that provides pain relief which will usually last 4-5 hours with a mean of 2 hours for most patients. With morphine being an opioid analgesic it is a great resource for patients with pain. What is commonly accepted among prehospital care providers in this day and age is that we ask what kind of allergies a patient has before we administer a medication. This is a great practice; however what can happen is if we don’t understand our pharmacologic interventions, we are not providing t
