Painkillers

When a part or your whole body starts aching badly, you try and tolerate it. But slowly when the pain goes beyond imagination, and it becomes unbearable, you pop in a prescribed painkiller. As the effect starts taking action, the pain in your body ceases and you feel relieved. These pills should, however, not be confused with anesthesia as the latter also makes the area numb. But, these pills might have certain side effects as well. Here are some more information about these pills and their side effects.

What are They?

These pills are also known as analgesic, which has been derived from a Greek word an which means 'without' and algos which means 'pain'. They are members of that group of drugs that are used to relieve pain. One can categorize them in several ways; one, the over the counter pills which does not need a prescription to buy, and the ones that requires prescription for purchasing. The next method of categorizing them are by their chemical type. The first chemical is the opiates which can also be called narcotics, non-selective non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), the selective NSAIDS, some that does not fit into any of the categories above, and some of various chemical combination.

These, with the chemical combination of Opiates, were the first analgesics to be discovered, around 34000 BC., in Greece. During the 5th century BC, Hippocrates used opium along with salacin from the willow bark, which was later used as an aspirin, by the German chemist Felix Hoffman, in the late 19th century. It was only in the 20th century, that NSAIDs were discovered for the first time and Indomethacin was the first NSAID that was discovered. The person who discovered this was an American chemist, Tsung-Ying Shen, in the 1960s. The COX-2 (semi-selective and selective NSAID) inhibitors were discovered for the first time by a US professor W.L. Xie and his teammates in the year 1991.

Their Uses

While suffering from unbearable pain, people are often confused as to which ones will be best for them. There are so many pills in the market that we cannot decide. Well not to worry. Given below is a list of some of the common analgesics and also the best uses of these pills are given. This is sure to help you decide what you need.

• Aspirin is good for all kinds of pains and earlier it was very popular as it was said to lower the chances or risk of the person suffering from stroke or any kind of heart diseases. Any kind of pain, all people used to do and still does now is pop in an aspirin.
• If you are suffering from a terrible tooth ache, or if you have fallen down and sprained your hand or leg and cannot bear the pain, then it's better that you pop in a paracetamol. This painkiller is good for splitting headaches as well as getting rid of the common cold and fever. This is an over-the-counter one.
• Morphine is a prescription drug that eases pain that is caused by heart attacks. It also reduces back pain, or pain caused by kidney stones and even pain after surgery. However, one has to be very careful about using morphine as it can be addictive.
• Codeine is another popular choice and it is used as a general pain reliever. Sometimes, doctors even ask patients to use this pill along with some other prescribed medications.
• Ibuprofen, is a good over-the-counter pill for pains in muscles, migraines, minor sprains and strains, arthritis, menstrual pains or cramps and even severe toothaches. But there are certain side effects too.
• There's one particular one which is good for a sports person when they sprain their limbs or when they suffer from tennis elbow or when they are injured while playing and that's Piroxicam. This pill can also be taken in by those who are suffering from tendonitis or juvenile arthritis.

Now popping in a pill when you are suffering from unbearable pain and that pill easing the pain, sounds good, but are you aware of the fact that popping in too many pills can have several side effects? Yes, the side effects are very common specially among those who frequently take them. Let us see what are the various side effects.

Side Effects

The pills might reduce the pain, but along with it you also have to accept the side effects. These side effects vary from one person to another and various drugs have different kind of side effects on us. Hence, one should take them only when the pain is ABSOLUTELY unbearable. If you feel that you can manage to bear it, avoid taking these pills as much as possible. Let us now see what are some of the common side effects.

• One side effect is constipation, and this can be a major problem for many. Hence along with the pill, there are various constipation relief medicines that you can try out.
• Some people might also suffer from itchy skin problem and the person also gets a sensitive skin. There are people, who after taking them might also develop hives.
• Blurred vision is another side effect that people have. However, this is only a case of severe side effect of these pills.
• Stomach related problems such as indigestion, or stomach ache or even diarrhea, are some of the common side effects of these pain killing pills.
• Other side effects of these pill are, drowsiness, feeling dizzy and lethargic.
• Production of saliva in the mouth is reduced hence the mouth becomes very dry and uncomfortable.
• The worst side effects of taking painkillers is that the person gets addicted to it and even at the slightest pain they pop in a pill, not realizing what harm they are causing to their body.

Natural Pain Relievers

Instead of taking these chemical ones, it's best that you go for natural painkillers as they are less harmful for you and your body. They too ease pain like any other pills.

• Turmeric is a good natural remedy for any kinds of pain. This can be used in the place of NSAID and they have no side effects.
• Olive Oil is equal to ibuprofen and if taken daily, it reduces the chances of clotting of the blood and even cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
• Human saliva is also a good pain reliever and it is 6 times more powerful than morphine. This is NOT a myth. It has been proved that saliva is really a good painkiller. This too has no side effects.

Nowadays, you can get a prescription over the Internet, but it's best that you do not go for it as sometimes it might be illegal. Ask your doctor before taking any kind of painkiller and take it ONLY when the pain really becomes unbearable. Otherwise just try to avoid it or use the natural ones.