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Brand names:
Kadian®, MS Contin®, Oramorph®
Often used for:
Pain management
Morphine is an opioid medicine used to manage pain.
Morphine has fast-acting and long-acting forms. Follow dosing instructions carefully. The care team may ask you to keep a record of the doses your child takes, so they can prescribe the best possible pain control.
This medicine may be given in the clinic, hospital, or at home.
Morphine is a strong medicine. When used to treat pain over a long period of time it may cause physical dependence. Physical dependence is when the body starts to rely on the medicine and stopping the medicine too fast can result in unwanted side effects. Your care team will monitor for this and make a plan if the medicine must be stopped slowly.
Your care team may talk to you about having a medicine called naloxone available while taking morphine. Naloxone is a rescue medicine that can reverse the life-threatening effects of an opioid overdose. Your care team may teach you and your family how to use this medicine in case an overdose of morphine ever happens.
May be given into a vein by IV
May be given as a tablet by mouth
May be given as a capsule by mouth
May be given as a liquid by mouth
Allergic reaction – Call your care team right away if your child has symptoms of an allergic reaction. These may include:
This medicine can cause serious breathing and swallowing problems. If your child has slow, shallow breathing or trouble breathing or swallowing, call your care team right away.
Side effects should decrease after taking morphine for a few days. Tell the doctor or pharmacist if side effects increase while taking this medicine.
Not all patients who take morphine will experience these side effects. Common side effects are bolded, but there may be others. Please report all suspected side effects to your doctor or pharmacist. Find more information on side effects.
Be sure to discuss all questions and instructions with your doctor or pharmacist.
This drug may be habit forming when used long term. Watch for signs of misuse. Signs of misuse can be: