 Take a stroll down the pharmacy section of your store. What do you see? Most likely a vast array of products to choose from, in all shapes and sizes and formulations. With so many different choices, how do you go about deciding which pain relief medication is going to work the best for you?It may look confusing, but there are really only four different active ingredients found in non-prescription products that provide pain relief: - ASA or acetylsalicylic acid (as found in Aspirin®)
- Ibuprofen (as found in MOTRIN* IB)
- Codeine (as found in 222*’s)
- Acetaminophen (as found in TYLENOL*)
How do I choose one?These popular pain relievers are all effective. However, one might be better suited to your circumstance or you may simply prefer one type over another. To ensure that you are choosing the most effective relief possible for your type of pain, it’s important to understand as much as you can about each medication. And that means being familiar with the benefits as well as the risks or side effects. When choosing any medication it is always a good idea to consult with your doctor or pharmacist.
ASA or acetylsalicylic acid
ASA has been around for 100 years now and chances are this all-purpose pain reliever was the first one you ever used. Soft tissue injuries, such as muscle strains and sprains, respond well to treatment with ASA. ASA also "thins the blood”, so it is occasionally recommended at low doses as part of a doctor supervised preventative therapy regimen. ASA can cause a variety of side effects including stomach upset or irritated digestive systems and sometimes interacts with other medications. Anyone who suffers from asthma, anemia, diabetes, high blood pressure, liver disease, bleeding disorders, gout, or ulcers; or is taking corticosteriods, anti-coagulants or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, should talk to their doctor first before taking ASA. Children and teenagers shouldn’t take ASA for chickenpox or influenza symptoms because of its association with Reye’s syndrome, a rare disorder that may cause seizures, brain damage, and death. Ibuprofen Ibuprofen is the newest of the four pain relievers, available over-the-counter in Canada since 1989. Gentler on the stomach than ASA, ibuprofen provides fast, effective relief for everyday aches and pains and is effective in relieving the pain of inflammation. Ibuprofen works well for menstrual cramps, mild to moderate migraine headaches, toothaches and pain of arthritis or inflammation. If you are an active healthy person, there is little risk of side effects. However, in some people, ibuprofen may cause stomach irritation and could interfere with other medications. Anyone who suffers from asthma, high blood pressure, bleeding disorders or who is taking corticosteriods, anti-coagulants or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories should talk to their doctor before taking ibuprofen. UPDATE! IBUPROFEN FOR CHILDREN.
Now there are specially formulated children’s ibuprofen pain relievers available that have been designed to actually give children pain relief and long lasting fever relief. One good example is Children’s MOTRIN* Ibuprofen. It has been developed to relieve a child’s pain effectively, and a child’s fever for up to eight hours. These children’s ibuprofen products are generally kept next to the adult pain relievers in the pharmacy section.
NEW 300 AND 400 MG STRENGTH ADULT IBUPROFEN FOR MAXIMUM CONVENIENCE AND CHOICE.
The adult ibuprofen section now has additional strengths available because not all pain is the same and therefore should not be treated equally. In addition to Regular Strength, you can now find new Extra Strength and Super Strength formulations. The new 400 mg. Super Strength MOTRIN*, for example, provides the maximum dose of pain relieving ibuprofen available without a prescription, in just one tablet.
Codeine
Codeine is a member of the drug class opiates and has been used for years in Canada to ease more severe aches and pains – including the discomfort that can follow surgery. Most codeine containing pain relievers require a prescription. But you can get codeine without a prescription in doses of 8 milligrams per pill in combination with other active ingredients, such as acetylsalicylic acid – 222*s – or with acetaminophen in the form of TYLENOL* No. 1. Common belief is that codeine combination products provide one of the strongest, non-prescription pain relief alternatives available. In actual fact, clinical studies have shown that there is often no additional pain relief provided by the 8 mg of codeine in the combination drug product. Instead, it has been proven that an ibuprofen product like MOTRIN* IB can provide just as effective relief for those tough pains. Especially since side effects associated with codeine use can include constipation, agitation, restlessness, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and dizziness.
Acetaminophen
Introduced forty years ago, acetaminophen remains the “gold standard” in pain relief. Because of its effectiveness and excellent safety profile, acetaminophen has long been the preferred choice among doctors for most pain conditions, including mild to moderate migraines and tension headaches. In fact, The American College of Rheumatology recommends acetaminophen as the first line of therapy for the pain of osteoarthritis and the American Geriatric Society recommends it for mild to moderate musculoskelatal pains in adults 50 and over. Acetaminophen, as found in TYLENOL* products, works without stomach upset and has no effect on blood clotting. It is considered to have the best safety profile with the fewest side effects. As a result, acetaminophen is also widely recommended for children and the elderly.
UPDATE!
Up to 8 hours of pain relief.
Canada now has what could be considered almost a whole new standard of pain relievers… long-lasting pain relievers. The first brand to introduce this new technology is TYLENOL*, this time with its new TYLENOL* 8 Hour. Formulated as a unique, patented bi-layer caplet, the first layer of TYLENOL* 8 Hour dissolves quickly for prompt pain relief and its second layer is time-released to give you pain relief for up to 8 hours.
Whichever pain reliever you choose, it should be selected and used carefully. Although available over-the-counter, all of these pain relievers are real medicines. Also it is a good idea to consult with your physician to determine which pain reliever is best suited for your ailment, aches or pains while giving you the least potential for side effects.
Health tip  When it comes to medicine, you have to be careful to not take too much of a good thing. Many non-prescription and prescription medicines contain the same active ingredient. For example, your cold medication could have a combination of medicines that include the same active ingredient as your pain reliever and your arthritis medication. That’s why it’s important to know what is in your medicine, so you know exactly what you are taking.
To avoid taking more of the same ingredient than you should at the same time, keep these tips in mind: - Look for the active ingredients and dosage instructions on the label.
- Consult with your doctor or pharmacist before taking medicines with the same active ingredients at the same time.
- Take only the daily recommended dosage of each medicine and active ingredient
- Count all the doses from all of your medicines so that you don't take too much.
- Consult with your doctor or pharmacist before taking two medicines that contain a pain reliever at the same time.
To learn more, visit www.bemedwise.ca.
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