What is codeine and how is it used?
• Codeine is an ingredient in many prescription pain relievers and over-the-counter cough syrups. • Codeine has been used safely for many years in many people, including nursing mothers. In medical practice, codeine is generally considered the safest narcotic pain reliever for a breastfeeding woman and her baby. • When codeine enters the body, it must be changed (metabolized) to morphine to relieve pain. Morphine relieves pain and cough and is also responsible for side effects that some people may experience. 2. What is a codeine ultra-rapid metabolizer? • Codeine is metabolized to morphine in the liver by an enzyme. Some people have a variation of this enzyme that changes codeine to morphine faster and more completely than in other people. These individuals are called ultra-rapid metabolizers of codeine. • The number of ultra-rapid metabolizers varies among different population groups. For people who are ultra-rapid metabolizers, the specific likelihood of having an adverse event when
