Vicodin is the prescription painkiller central to Gregory House’s addiction in House M.D.
House takes Vicodin to manage chronic pain caused by the infarction in his right thigh. The injury leaves him with a limp and requires him to use a cane. His reliance on the medication becomes one of the show’s major continuing character conflicts, affecting his health, judgment, employment, and relationships.
Vicodin is a brand name for a combination of hydrocodone and acetaminophen. The series depicts House obtaining and using it compulsively, while colleagues repeatedly question whether he is treating pain or feeding an addiction. Several storylines involve attempts to force sobriety or confront the consequences of his dependence.
The drug is sometimes confused with morphine, which House also encounters in particular medical situations, or with a generic opioid name. Vicodin is the recurring medication most closely associated with his addiction and is an essential part of the character’s established backstory.