What You Need To Know About Painkillers

Which is the safest pain relief medicine?

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No medicine is 100% safe, and the same is also applicable to painkillers. Like other medicines, they can produce side effects.

How To Reduce Side Effects of Painkillers

To reduce their side effects, if possible, they should be used as a gel/spray on the intact skin, but this may increase the cost of therapy.

If they have to be taken through the mouth, they should be consumed in the lowest dose according to the guidelines and as per the doctor's prescription. Most doctors write painkillers in split doses for a short duration on an as-needed basis.
Self-medication with oral pain medicines is not recommended and can even be dangerous.

The use of specialized preparations like a film-coated tablet/extended-release formulation may also minimize the side effects, but it usually comes with extra costs.

Most pain medicines are recommended after food. One should follow pack instructions and avoid taking these medicines with an empty stomach.

People Who Shouldn't be on NSAIDs

Elderly, asthma patients, heart patients, pregnant women, kidney patients, liver patients, etc. should not take these drugs until unless prescribed by their physician.

People who have had a side effect with one NSAID are also more likely to develop adverse effects with another NSAID.

Safety Profile of Common Pain Relief Medicines

Of all the painkillers available in the market, Paracetamol/Acetaminophen is considered to be the safest, but it can not relieve severe pain and is also not 100% safe.
In case of severe pain, at least an NSAID would generally be needed.

Though all NSAIDs may produce serious side effects, the possibility of severe side effects with Ibuprofen and Naproxen may be less than many other NSAIDs. This is the reason these are available over the counter in many countries.

Several other higher-order medicine classes are also available for pain relief, but they commonly produce some side effects, and can also produce serious side effects in few patients. These should never be taken without a doctor's prescription.

References

1: A clinical and safety review of paracetamol and ibuprofen in children
2: Clinical Pharmacology and Cardiovascular Safety of Naproxen

About the author: Dr. Naval Asija is a licensed MBBS Physician from India. MBBS is the equivalent of the MD degree offered by international medical schools. He is based in Delhi, India, and works as a medical writer, editor, and consultant. He supports medical researches as an author's editor, medical communication companies involved in medico-marketing activities, and medical technology companies in improving their products. He can be contacted via his LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/navalasija/

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