Usually breakthrough pain is treated with a short-acting opioid that is 5 to 20 percent of the dose you normally take to manage chronic pain. You’ll take this pain reliever right when your symptoms start. One commonly used fast-acting opioid for breakthrough pain is the narcotic fentanyl citrate.

Breakthrough pain is treated with fast-acting opioid pain relievers, such as morphine, oxycodone, or fentanyl. These medicines last just a short time in the body. Breakthrough pain is most common in people who have cancer.

Dilaudid (hydromorphone), MSIR (morphine), oxycodone, and other narcotics can also be prescribed for breakthrough pain relief, says Abdi. “They work similarly, but depending on the severity of breakthrough pain, one may work better than another.

Dilaudid and other versions of hydromorphone are stronger drugs than oxycodone. These drugs are often used for serious pain caused by surgery, broken bones, or cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a three-step ladder for treating cancer pain.

Flare-ups are highly subjective – some patients experience flares that last for a few minute or hours, while others can have flares that last for days or weeks at a time. Pain flares are common in patients who suffer from chronic pain conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia, and CRPS.

Helpful Tips: • When calculating an appropriate breakthrough dose, it is recommended to use either 50 – 100% of the regular every four hour dose or 10% of the total daily dose. If a patient requires three or more breakthrough doses in a 24 hour period, then the regularly scheduled pain medication should be increased.

An “IR” stands for “immediate release” and means that the drug will work quickly and for only a short time. These rapid-onset opioids are used to treat breakthrough pain. Examples of these types of drugs are fast-acting oral morphine; fentanyl in a lozenge, “sucker,” or under-the-tongue spray.

Vicks Vapor Rub® – Massaging one’s feet with Vicks, particularly at night, soothes neuropathic pain and distress in one’s feet and legs. It is also excellent for softening your toe nails and diminishing common toe nail problems.

Medication given for breakthrough pain is referred to as rescue medication. Breakthrough pain is most often treated with short-acting opioids, or narcotics. When breakthrough pain can be predicted, your doctor may give you short-acting opioids preemptively.

It’s very important to manage this type of pain. Breakthrough pain is not controlled by regular doses of pain medicines. It is usually treated with an additional dose of pain medicine or a different kind of medicine.

Most patients with chronic pain, including palliative care and hospice patients, are given medication to use as needed to treat breakthrough pain. Medication for BTP is typically fast-acting with a relatively short duration of action (usually providing relief for two to four hours).

Breakthrough pain can often be successfully treated by tailoring opioid therapy based on the subtype of BTP. These characteristics of BTP will determine the most appropriate opioid compound (i.e., hydrophilic vs lipophilic) and most effective mode of drug delivery.