Taking medications for any and every type of pain might seem logical, but may come with unintended consequences.
There are only two reasons to use pain relievers, said Dr. Gail Newton, associate professor of pharmacy practice at Purdue University.
“One is pain, and you should only use it at labeled doses for seven days,” said Newton. “The other is fever, and it should only be used for fever relief for two days.”
According to Dr. Robert Flowers, professor of chemistry at Lehigh University, over-the-counter pain-relieving medications can be categorized into two classes: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, also known as NSAIDs, block chemical messengers that cause inflammation and pain in the body, Flowers said.
Ibuprofen and Naproxen are two examples of active ingredients in NSAIDs, Flowers said.
Acetaminophen is the second class of over-the-counter pain relievers, and it works differently than NSAIDS, Flowers said.
“Acetaminophen actually inhibits the release of pain signals in the brain, but it does not reduce inflammation,” Flowers said.
According to Newton, NSAIDs and acetaminophen don’t completely eliminate pain, they might lessen the pain.
Both medications can reduce pain, but NSAIDs are associated with more side effects than acetaminophen, Newton said.
“The most common side effect that people complain of is stomach upset,” said Newton. “If it’s used for long periods of time, it can cause bleeding ulcers, and it can cause kidney damage.”
“[Acetaminophen] causes much less stomach upset. Most people don’t experience any side effects with acetaminophen,” Newton said.
For both types of medications, eating beforehand is recommended to reduce stomach upset and irritation, Newton said.
The biggest issue Newton notices in young people, particularly athletes, is using medications incorrectly, she said.
“I see [medication misuse] in athletes who want to play through the pain, using too high a dose and using it for longer than they should be using it,” Newton said.
“By and large, especially in athletes, pain means tissue damage,” Newton said.
According to Marcel Grdinic, former research associate in clinical pharmacology at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and current chemistry and brain studies teacher at GBN, continuing activity without addressing the cause of the pain may worsen a condition over time.
“Only use those [medications] if it’s absolutely necessary, and make sure that you’re not using it to mask some other underlying condition,” said Grdinic. “If you have some kind of injury that you’re like, ‘I need to take ibuprofen every morning for months at a time,’ then you probably need to address whatever that issue is and not rely on the drug for that.”
According to Flowers, to get the best results, people should read directions on the bottle.
“That’s usually the last thing people do when they even look at it,” Flowers said.
According to Newton, although there are precautions people need to be aware of, as long as the correct dosage is taken for the right length of time, people are going to be okay.