The pain reliever is considered a “double edged sword”, if not used correctly it will leave many serious consequences.
According to pharmacist Nguyen Thi Trang, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine, and Hospital of Pharmacy Ho Chi Minh City, pain relievers are the ones that are effective in treating pain caused by illness, trauma, or surgery. However, all situations feel pain can use this type.
Common pain relievers
Pharmacist Trang said pain relievers can be divided into two broad groups.
Group of over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers. These are the types of patients who can come and buy on their own from a pharmacy under the advice of a pharmacist without a doctor’s prescription. This group of drugs is very useful for mild pain such as headache, toothache, menstrual pain, arthritis …
Basically, this group of drugs can be divided into two main types: paracetamol (acetaminophen) and some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain relievers (NSAIDs) like aspirin, ibuprofen …
Group of prescription pain relievers. When pain cannot be alleviated by Group 1 drugs, patients should consult their doctor for stronger pain relievers. Prescription pain relievers are also divided into two categories, non-opioids and opioids.
Non-opioid medications are often prescribed by doctors for people with inflammation and osteoarthritis. Opioids are the strongest pain relievers in this group, including morphine and fentanyl. These drugs have very strong pain relieving effects, but they can also cause serious side effects if misused.
Opioid pain relievers are often prescribed by doctors for severe pain that does not respond to other pain relievers such as postoperative pain and cancer. The user of this medicine should always be closely supervised and supervised by medical personnel.
Pain relievers like a “double-edged sword”
Pharmacist Nguyen Thi Trang warns that patients often have the habit of buying pain relievers on their own from pharmacies without consulting pharmacists or doctors. In many cases, the use of pain relievers is not correct, such as overdose or voluntary stopping.
Some statistics around the world have shown that the inappropriate use of painkillers is an alarming condition, which can have unforeseeable consequences.
“The use of pain relievers is considered a ‘double-edged sword.’ Failure to use it correctly will have serious consequences. As with first-class pain relievers, although they are considered fairly safe, this does not mean not that they do not cause side effects. In fact, some cases of paracetamol poisoning lead to acute liver failure, life threatening due to misuse of the drugs, “Trang warned.
Associate Professor Dang Nguyen Doan Trang, Head of Department of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, warns that to use pain relievers safely, patients should not use drugs on purpose but should consult your doctor. pharmacist or pharmacist.
At the same time, the patient should provide full information to the doctor and pharmacist about symptoms, pain level, medical history … to help him choose the right pain reliever, in order to avoid possible complications. . event. The condition when using pain relievers is that the patient does not chew, break or crush the tablet by himself, change the dose by himself, buy more or not do not stop the medicine suddenly.
“When purchasing pain relievers, patients should actively check the active ingredients on the packaging or instruction sheets. In particular, the information you need to know are contraindications, maximum dosage, possible side effects and remembering when to take the medicine. If there are any unusual signs when taking pain relievers, please report them promptly to your doctor or go to a medical facility for a checkup, ”PGS Trang recommended.
