Poles do not know how to effectively deal with pain and use painkillers. Our knowledge on this subject is meager. We do not read leaflets, and we obtain information mainly from the Internet.
Painkillers are a great boon of medicine, but you need to use them skillfully. There are many painkillers available on the market, but three-quarters of Poles do not know the mechanisms of their action and are unable to choose the right drug for them. 91% of purchasing decisions are made independently, without the participation of a pharmacist, which means that only one in ten people consults a pharmacist. Meanwhile, pharmacists can help you choose the right remedy. Poles, however, prefer to look on the Internet. Every month, drug consumers generate 2 “pain” inquiries on the Internet to “Dr. Google”.
Popular painkillers
75% of Poles do not know the mechanisms of action of painkillers. Over-the-counter medications most commonly include acetylsalicylic acid, acetaminophen, or ibuprofen. Both acetylsalicylic acid and ibuprofen belong to the group of the so-called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The former is effective in dealing with fever, pain and inflammation. However, it cannot be used in children under 12 years of age. In addition, it may cause undesirable effects in the gastrointestinal tract, therefore it is contraindicated in people suffering, for example, from stomach ulcers. Paracetamol is only antipyretic and analgesic. It can be used in children of all age groups. It is safe for the digestive system. Unfortunately, when used contrary to the recommendations, it may have a negative effect on the liver. Ibuprofen has antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. It can be used in children from 3 months of age. It is characterized by a greater risk of side effects in the gastrointestinal tract than acetylsalicylic acid, but less than acetylsalicylic acid. It is safer than paracetamol for the liver. Lack of knowledge about the action of individual substances means that we make many mistakes when taking painkillers. For example, for a headache after a successful party, we take paracetamol, which carries a risk for the liver already burdened by alcohol. When choosing a drug, it is also worth paying attention to whether it has anti-inflammatory properties, because, for example, pain in the sinuses is caused, among other things, by an inflammatory process. It is recommended that in case of pain and fever, drugs that also have anti-inflammatory effects should be used.
Drug overdose
Poles often abuse drugs. It happens that they take both anti-cold and painkiller tablets containing the same substances at the same time, which means that they exceed their permitted daily dose. Women sometimes take one medication for menstrual problems and the other for a headache, not knowing that they have the same ingredients. Many people also take too high doses of drugs because they do not read leaflets or want to multiply the effect of the preparation.
Taking the drug in doses higher than recommended in the leaflet is pointless and dangerous due to the so-called “Ceiling effect”, which consists in the lack of a stronger analgesic effect after exceeding the so-called maximum dose, taken once or throughout the day. As a result, we do not feel a stronger analgesic effect, and we increase the risk of side effects.
It often happens that, convinced about the safety of painkillers, we take them at every possible opportunity, without following the recommendations contained in the leaflet. And overuse of painkillers can lead to a number of side effects, such as nausea, stomach ulcer, and skin lesions. Paradoxically, the use of painkillers several times a week may cause drug-induced headaches, the so-called rebound headaches.
You should also remember that an over-the-counter painkiller is an emergency measure. – Remember that pain is our ally up to a certain point, it informs us about the abnormalities in our body. It cannot be ignored if it is very severe, sudden or persistent, or if it has changed its nature. Especially in such situations, we should not treat our own body as a testing ground for clinical trials. Let’s diagnose the cause, and then choose the right medicine for you with the help of a doctor and use it carefully – says Dr. Monika Białecka
Pain medications for children
Pain is the cause of suffering at any age, but at each stage of development it has different causes, nature, and effective ways of combating it. – Even pain in the same part of the body, such as the head, has different causes in a child and an adult. A baby’s nerve cells are not yet fully myelinated, and the entire central nervous system is immature. The use of drugs for adults may cause an overdose of the drug or its ineffectiveness due to ineffective administration, because, for example, a toddler will vomit a tablet – says Justyna Korzeniewska, child psychologist. Meanwhile, approximately 1 children aged 300-000 in Poland receive painkillers for adults despite warnings on the packaging and in the leaflet. What’s worse, the research of GFK Polonia shows that as many as 6% of mothers say that children aged 12-56 can take medicines for adults. 0% of respondents believe that children can be given agents based on acetylsalicylic acid, which in children carry a risk of Reye’s syndrome – a dangerous disease causing pathological changes, among others. in the brain and liver.
The main reason children are given painkillers is fever. The most popular and well-studied medications for toddlers are those containing paracetamol and ibuprofen. Paracetamol is recommended from birth, and ibuprofen from 3 months of age. Although both drugs have analgesic and antipyretic effects, they are different. Ibuprofen starts to work faster and the antipyretic effect lasts longer1. The effect of paracetamol lasts for about 4-6 hours, while ibuprofen lasts 6-8 hours. Ibuprofen, unlike paracetamol, also removes inflammation, which is often the cause of pain and fever in a child. Paracetamol is less irritating to the stomach than drugs from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which is especially important if the child suffers from any gastrointestinal diseases. To increase the effectiveness of painkillers from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, e.g. ibuprofen can be combined with paracetamol. However, we should not combine two drugs from the NSAID group together, e.g. the combination of acetylsalicylic acid (so-called aspirin) with ibuprofen or naproxen is not recommended because it may increase the side effects in the gastrointestinal tract. – Clinical trials have shown that the combination of two painkillers, e.g. ibuprofen and paracetamol, increases the effectiveness of the therapy. However, it is worth not to do it on your own, it is better to seek specialist advice or choose ready-made two-component preparations that contain the appropriate doses of each drug – says pharmacologist Prof. Andrzej Stańczak.
Text: Halina Pilonis