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Centrally acting pain medications work by acting on receptors in the brain; that's why they're called "centrally acting." There are both traditional and nontraditional medications in this class. Traditional centrally acting analgesics are also called "opioids." Opioid analgesics are very useful and very effective for the control of many types of pain. The proper use of these drugs does not generally lead to addiction. Addiction is a psychological dependence; a compulsive, repetitive, and irrational use of any substance. Unless someone has a history of drug abuse, addiction is very unlikely to happen in a nursing home setting, or in most other settings, for that matter. For some of our residents, perhaps for your loved one, opioids may be the only effective way we have to relieve their pain.
