Topical Pain Relievers

Pain is an unpleasant but common sensation associated with injury and certain diseases. Though normally we can tolerate this sensation to an extent, it can become quite an unbearable nuisance at times and can affect our day-to-day activities. Sometimes, pain can become so intolerable and agonizing, that we may need the help of some medications, which are known as analgesics or pain killers. Pain killers are mainly of two types, oral and topical.

Topical Pain Relievers
Aspirin is the most common oral analgesic, that is used to relieve the excruciating pain and discomfort associated with many medical conditions. But long term use of such medications can produce several side effects or health related problems, for which many people prefer to use topical pain relievers. Here is an account of some of the best topical pain relievers.

Counterirritants
Counterirritants are basically menthol based topical pain relievers, that irritate the skin and give a hot and cold sensation to temporarily provide some relief in pain. Apart from menthol, many counterirritants also include eucalyptus and wintergreen oils. Their hot and cold sensation is produced by stimulating the nerve endings found on the skin. Counterirritants usually have a mild smell, that easily disappears after application. The gel is light and non-greasy and is used for joint and muscle pain. They are also used for arthritis pain relief. Biofreeze, Flexall and Icy Hot are some of the common counterirritants, that are used for pain relief.

Salicylates
Many topical pain relievers contain salicylates, the active ingredients of aspirin. Salicylates are quite effective in easing pain and inflammation associated with arthritis, as they can inhibit a substance, known as prostaglandins. Prostaglandis is a hormone-like substance, that can aggravate pain and inflammation. Topical analgesics that contain salicylates include Aspercreme, Bengay, Mobisyl and Sportscreme.

Capsaicin
Capsaicin is the natural ingredient found in peppers. The burning sensation that peppers produce, can be attributed to this compound. It has the ability to alleviate pain by depleting a particular neurotransmitter found in our body. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals that transmit signals of pain to the brain. Topical pain relievers like Capzasin and Zostrix contain the active compound, capsaicin in order to provide relief in arthritis pain.

Gels and Patches
Along with creams, gels and pain-relief patches have also been in use for quite some time now. Many people have found them to be more effective than topical creams, for alleviating pain for a longer time period. The pain relieving gels usually contain non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Diclofenac gel is a topical pain reliever that can be used for osteoarthritis pain relief. But, it can produce some side effects like skin rashes or redness on the area of application. Along with gels, diclofenac patches are also available, that can be used for sprains or strains. But, people with chronic kidney diseases may not be able to use such patches. Some other commonly used pain-relief patches are Lidocaine patch, Ben gay patches and Icy Hot patches.

Apart from topical creams, gels and patches, the popularity of heat wraps are also growing rapidly. Compared to other topical pain relievers, heat wraps are a bit expensive, but they have found to provide considerable relief in pain and inflammation. It is believed that these heat wraps help to increase blood and oxygen flow to the affected area, and thereby alleviate pain and inflammation.

Natural Topical Pain Relievers
The effectiveness of most of the topical pain relievers, especially the creams and gels can be attributed to some specific compounds like menthol and salicylate, which are actually obtained from certain herbs or plants. Such natural topical pain relievers include spearmint oil, eucalyptus oil, wintergreen oil, peppermint oil, etc. Most of these essential oils have analgesic, sedative, anti-spasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties, due to which they are widely used in treating several diseases and in the production of commercial pain relievers.

Menthol, the active compound found in many topical pain relievers is obtained from peppermint and other mint oils, while methyl salicylate, which our body converts to salicylic acid comes from wintergreen oil. Many people have found these herbal medicines as effective as commercial pain relievers in easing muscle, joint pain and inflammation, headaches and also abdominal cramps.

So, topical pain relievers are basically used to get temporary relief from pain and inflammation. Though topical pain relievers cannot provide permanent relief from pain, they can help to reduce the over dependence on oral analgesics or painkillers, and thereby avoid some of the health related problems associated with the overuse of such medications.