Painkillers
- Year(s) Officially Discovered: Roughly 5,000 BCE
- Discovery Put Into Action: Almost Immediately
- Team/Person Behind The Discovery: Ancient Greeks & Chinese
Painkillers in some form have been around for thousands of years. A lot of our early knowledge regarding painkillers comes from a few specific areas, Ancient Greece & Ancient China. Originally, painkillers were truly only in use for surgical procedures. Keep in mind, that they could not put people to sleep back then. This was when the Poppy Plant came into play, allowing them to create Opium. The Ancient Greeks would use it to help with surgical pains yet abuse of Opium was not really as common.
It was not until the 1500s and beyond that we would see the recreational use of Opium and major abuse issues regarding it along with other painkillers. Today, Opium is not commonly in play. Yet we have dozens of painkiller types that, in America, are over-the-counter or require a prescription. Abuse has also been lessened the last number of years due to Pain Management doctors, cutting abuse of pharmaceutical drugs immensely in the U.S. However, in spite of the problems they cause….it is clear that this is one of mankind’s greatest discoveries. Being able to treat pain is incredibly useful.