"My back hurts. What can I do? I went to the pharmacy to get some medicine, but the pain won't go away." "I have some painkillers at home, but I don't know how much to take." "I don't understand why they won't give me something stronger at the pharmacy." Many of us have probably had these thoughts when looking for a solution to pain and not found an answer in our immediate environment.
Over-the-counter medications, especially pain relievers, allow us to treat occasional, mild pain without a prescription. This has likely contributed to their abuse and spread the concept of "self-medication," a practice that does not contribute to the effectiveness of treatments and can have adverse side effects.
The problem is not occasional use, but rather that we become accustomed to taking medication for recurring pain and live with this discomfort that "comes and goes" without seeing a specialist who can determine its cause, help us find the source of the pain, and take action to improve our quality of life.
The first thing we want to clarify is how to use the main over-the-counter painkillers. Although as specialists in biological medicine we advocate other types of treatment, the truth is that many people resort to them when they suffer from occasional pain, and we believe it is important to be aware of them.
Although there is always reference to the interchangeable use of paracetamol, ibuprofen, and aspirin (the trade name for acetylsalicylic acid), the truth is that the best-selling painkiller in Spain is Nolotil, the best-known brand containing metamizole, an active ingredient used to treat acute or moderate pain and which can serve as an antipyretic when other types of components do not work. With more than 22 million boxes sold in 2017, health authorities remind us that this medicine should only be sold with a prescription, for short-term treatment and with monitoring due to the risk of agranulocytosis, a rare but serious adverse reaction.
Both Nolotil and paracetamol in doses of one gram and ibuprofen in doses of 600 grams have been subject to medical prescription for years. However, it was not until a few months ago that the health authorities took action and forced pharmacies to adhere to over-the-counter formats when no prescription is presented. Why has this "tightening" been necessary? Because no medication is harmless. Beyond relieving pain, which they do, they have side effects and are not suitable for everyone. However, we are not always aware of these consequences on our bodies.
Paracetamol acts on the brain, on our perception of pain, rather than on the damaged area. One of its advantages is that it does not affect the stomach, but it can affect the liver and transaminase levels, as well as cause hypotension or hypoglycemia. There are even studies that indicate that its consumption can reduce levels of empathy towards other people.
Ibuprofen is an effective analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug that should be taken with caution. The World Health Organization warns that it can aggravate the patient's previous infections and poses a risk in cases of cardiovascular disease (regular intake increases the chances of suffering a cardiac arrest by 31 percent). Other complications can lead to fever, respiratory problems, and other liver-related issues.
The main adverse effect of aspirin is gastrointestinal bleeding, but this is rare when taken in low doses.
In any case, if we consult specialists before taking medication, we can ensure that both the benefits and risks of taking certain medications are assessed, allowing us to consume them more safely. This article provides more details on patient characteristics and over-the-counter painkillers.
We can add that paracetamol, aspirin, and ibuprofen all have antipyretic effects, although paracetamol is the most widely used substance and is recommended as the first specific option for the symptomatic treatment of fever.
Acute pain is not the same as chronic pain. For example, Lyme disease treated early on may be mild for the patient, but if diagnosis is delayed, the patient takes medication believing that they have another condition, and we end up with chronic Lyme disease, which is very tedious for the patient. The former responds to a specific injury, such as surgery or a blow. The latter has more to do with tissue inflammation and lasts for more than three months. The good news is that acute pain responds well to painkillers if taken properly and for a certain period of time.
But there's more: chronic pain can also disappear or, at least, be reduced, allowing patients to lead a normal life. The answer lies in biological medicine and its commitment to finding the cause of diseases, the origin of symptoms, and activating the body's healing powers.
When we talk about the origin of pain, it is likely that it is not located in the same place where we feel the discomfort. For example, back pain may be caused by tension in the jaw, and a herniated disc may cause pain throughout the leg. What do we treat? The symptom or the source of the pain? After studying each case, the ideal approach is to design a personalized treatment plan using specific, minimally invasive techniques with no side effects.
From our perspective, pain is influenced by physiological, emotional, and environmental factors. Nutrition has a decisive influence on our body and should therefore also be part of any treatment for inflammation and pain. Among the most recommended foods for relieving muscle pain, for example, are coffee and cocoa (in moderate doses), ginger and turmeric, eggs, and spinach. In addition, to avoid inflammation and the pain it causes, we recommend eliminating refined sugar, processed foods, dairy products, and red meat from your diet, at least for a while.
