Gregory House is dependent on the prescription painkiller Vicodin for his chronic leg pain in House M.D.
Vicodin is a brand name for a combination of hydrocodone and paracetamol, also called acetaminophen. In the series, House uses the medication to manage severe pain caused by a past infarction in the quadriceps muscle of his right leg. That injury left him with a limp and contributed to his reliance on a cane.
House's Vicodin use is more than a character detail. It creates medical, ethical, and professional conflicts throughout the show, affecting his judgment, relationships, employment, and treatment. His colleagues repeatedly question whether he is treating pain or feeding an addiction.
The medication is sometimes confused with other opioid painkillers because several prescription drugs appear in television dramas. House's recurring pill bottle is specifically associated with Vicodin. The fictional storyline also reflects wider concerns about prescription-opioid dependence, though the program dramatizes the issue for character and plot.