There is no pain in everyday life, full of meetings and responsibilities. That is why we choose drugs that can relieve this unpleasant sensation as soon as possible. How to choose the ones that work the fastest? Here are some practical tips.
Each of us feels pain. The most common pain is headache, toothache, joint and back pain, and menstrual pain in women. Although each of us experiences these ailments with different strength and their origins, we all have one goal – an effective and safe fight against pain.
How does pain arise?
Doctors define the process of pain sensation as nociception, which is only a physiological process of pain sensation, while suffering is its indicator. Pain may arise as a result of irritation of pain receptors – nociceptors or a reduction in their excitability threshold, or as a result of damage to the nervous system.
Acute pain, i.e. short-term pain that we most often deal with, is usually caused by an easily identifiable cause (such as tissue damage) or disease factors and includes four important stages: transduction (conversion of a stimulus into electrical impulses), transmission (impulse conduction) , modulation and perception. This is the way in which, in acute pain, the damaging stimulus (both mechanical, thermal and chemical) is conducted with nerve fibers, causing in the last phase (at the perception stage) an unpleasant pain sensation. This last stage takes place in the brain. It plays a cognitive role and is responsible for making people aware of pain, assessing it, and for affective and emotional reactions. In addition, tissue damage leads to the release of many inflammatory mediators (including cytokines, histamine, bradykinin and substance P), which are responsible for the development of inflammation at the site of injury.
What to do when pain strikes?
Everyone has faced a dilemma at some point: a classic tablet, capsule or a soluble drug. How to overcome pain? Do they all work the same?
All drugs used in mild to moderate pain have a similar mechanism of action. They come partly from the group of non-narcotic analgesics and partly from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Both groups have similar pharmacological effects and cause similar adverse reactions. They also have a similar analgesic mechanism, which is based on the inhibition of cyclooxygenase, the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of prostaglandins. However, not all of them make us feel better quickly. Why? The speed of the drug’s action depends, among other things, on its form. Depending on the intensity and location of the pain, as well as how fast the effect you want to achieve, you should consider what to choose: tablets, capsules, ointments, gels or suppositories.
The fastest pain relieving drugs from oral preparations are in the form of soft capsules and in a soluble form. And such preparations should be used when the pain occurs unexpectedly, in the most unfavorable circumstances and when it is important to eliminate this troublesome ailment as soon as possible.
Some people, considering it a safer form of treatment, decide to use suppositories to avoid problems with the digestive system. They are especially recommended for infants or when we cannot take the medicine by mouth, e.g. if there is vomiting.
Adjust the drug to your needs
Soluble medications are a good choice for those looking to overcome pain effectively, safely and most importantly quickly. They are available in the form of effervescent tablets as well as powders and granules and are used for the preparation of solutions or suspensions. Therefore, just before consumption, they should be thoroughly dissolved in a glass of water.
But what to do when we are on the street, in the car, in the park, for a walk and we cannot dissolve the drug in water? There can be many different situations in which pain begins. Often, under the influence of stress and fatigue, pain occurs in the most unexpected situations: on the first morning, at an exam, during an interview. Then it is important to quickly and discreetly provide yourself with effective help. A convenient form of the medicament in such situations is a capsule which is easy to swallow and may be washed down with a small amount of water. In the case of a capsule, it is enough to wait about a dozen or so minutes for its operation. Supporters of traditional pills, unfortunately, have to wait a little longer – usually only 30-60 minutes after taking them, the pain subsides.
Remember, however, that painkillers must not be abused. In the case of persistent ailments, consult a doctor who will conduct a more extensive diagnosis to determine the problem and determine the optimal therapeutic procedure.
Tekst: Lidia Banach