In hospice care, morphine is surely one of the most misunderstood interventions in medicine. And that leads to huge amounts of unnecessary guilt and suspicion in the families at one of the hardest moments in their lives.
What morphine does here is control two things at once — pain and shortness of breath.
The second one will be very surprising for most people.
The hardest physical sensation at the end of life is when the body has the feeling of air hunger regardless of the amount of oxygen it receives.
There is no intervention that takes away the discomfort in a similar manner to morphine.
It does not heal the underlying condition; it takes away the suffering that this condition creates.
That is the crucial difference.
Families' fear appears from the observation of becoming less responsive, sleeping more deeply, and breathing more slowly after the administration of morphine.
From the perspective of the untrained mind, it may seem scary even as if morphine hastens the process of death itself. And that is where the term "double effect" appeared in medical ethics meaning the case when a medication used to alleviate pain and suffering inadvertently causes death slightly faster.
Morphine for hospice care is surely one of the most misunderstood medical treatments around and that misunderstanding creates an unnecessary guilt burden and suspicions for loved ones at the most difficult time imaginable in their lives.
But scientific studies have proven again and again that morphine used correctly in hospice environments will do nothing to hasten the dying process. What it will do is take the agitation out of the equation, take away the signs of discomfort and pain and allow the body to go through the process without battling pain all the way to the end.
What families are really witnessing when morphine does its job is a peaceful process. That is all it ever intended to be.
The more basic truth of the matter that remains true here is that the capacity of the body to cope with illness, manage pain signals and retain dignity as it declines is highly related to the biological state of the body created over many years. Those who have done everything right and have nurtured themselves properly with healthy foods have a much easier experience at the end of their life than those who have neglected themselves along the way.
