Pain is which the body becomes aware of damage it has suffered. Unrelieved pain can cause or worsen physical or mental illness, can slow recovery and increase the risk of complications or death (Arnstein, 2010). Practically every person has been or will be subjected to pain in his or her lifetime. Once the initial pain problem is recognized, finding the appropriate relief can be confusing. Analgesics are over the counter, non-opioids that help to elevate minor to moderate pain, such as a NSAIDs. These medications provide analgesia by removing the cause of pain (Chatu, 2011). The classification of NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) divides into three categories; Aspirin, with a brand name such as Bayer, Ibuprofen, with a brand name such as Advil and Naproxen with a brand name such as Aleve.
First, the analgesic NSAIDs, aspirin, most commonly used to help in the onset of a heart attack by thinning the blood to prevent clots. Often used in the reduction of fever and to alleviate mild to moderate pain. Also used for menstrual cramps, arthritis, and toothaches. Too many doses of this NSAID could cause ringing in the ears. This OTC (over the counter), non-prescription medication is in the salicylate group, which means that it stops the production of certain natural substances that cause fever, pain, swelling and blood clots. Combination OTC medications may contain aspirin, like antacids. Every type of pain medicine has benefits and risks (Dugdale, 2011). Different types of pain may respond better to different types of NSAIDs.
Second NSAIDs is Ibuprofen, which is used for inflammation of muscles. This type of analgesic is also used to help reduce fever and relieve pain caused by headaches, muscle aches and stiffness (Staff, 2012). The anti-inflammatory agents block the production of biochemical called prostaglandins that cause the swelling and pain. Millions of Americans have arthritis and other painful health problems affecting the musculoskeletal system: the joints, muscles, and bones (Dugdale, 2011). Ibuprofen can be bought without a prescription and when taken for a short period, they are safe for most people. Always be aware of any side effects like bleeding, ulcer and upset stomach when using a NSAIDs.
Third and final analgesic is Naproxen. If ibuprofen does not work for the pain, naproxen may be an option (Staff, 2012).
Management of pain is very important when it comes to palliative care patients, considering that 55-95% of this patient population requires analgesia for pain relief (Creedon & O’Regan, 2010, p. [ 257]). But what is considered pain management? And why does pain continue to be inadequately treated? According to the article on chronic non-cancer pain in older people: evidence for prescribing, in the past few decades significant improvements have been made to the management of pain in palliative care. However, it is universally acknowledged that pain on a global scale remains inadequately treated because of cultural, attitudinal, educational, legal, and systemic reasons (Creedon & O’Regan, 2010, p. ...
In 2015, Doweiko’s research found that ”It is impossible for drugs to travel throughout the body without possible side effects“ (Doweiko, 2015, p.16). ”Prime affects versus side effects have been studied in order to find out how drugs harm but are contributing to healing“ (Doweiko, 2015, p. 16). The primary concern appears to be whether harm has to be the lesser concern in order to heal. Aspirin was used as an example of the healing component versus the side
Pain is something that several Americans suffer from on a daily basis for varying reasons.
The range of medications from anti-inflammatory to opioids is extreme, and have different effects on the human body. Medical professionals have to make the decision whether to give a patient a lower grade pain management drug or a higher grade drug, and they are the ones who have to determine how much pain the patient truly is in when most of a patient 's pain in unseen to the physical eye. “Pain as a presenting complaint accounts for up to 70% of emergency department visits, making it the most common reason to seek health care. Often, it is the only reason patients seek care,” and with this knowledge health care professional need to treat each patient equally in the sense that they are the emergency room or a physician 's office for a reason, and that reason is to relieve the pain they are in (American College of Emergency Physicians Online). The article from the American College of Emergency Physicians continues on to say that, “it is the duty of health care providers to relieve pain and suffering. Therefore, all physicians must overcome their personal barriers to proper analgesic administration,” this is in regards to medical professional who are bias toward specific patients, such as “frequent flyers” or even patients of certain class standing; no matter what their patient may look like or be like they must be treated equally and
What exactly is pain? According to Webster's dictionary, pain is "physical suffering typically from injury or illness; a distressing sensation in a part of the body; severe mental or emotional distress". Most everyone reading this paper has experienced some form of physical pain at some point during their lives; most everyone has even experienced the common daily pains such as stubbing our toe as we walk through the living room, accidentally biting our tongue as we chew, and having the afternoon headache after a long day of work. No matter the fact that it is unpleasant, pain has a very important role in telling the body that something is not right and leading to behavior that will remove the body from a source of potential injury. Imagine if we could not experience pain. We would not be able to change our behavior in any way when touching the burning hot dish in the oven, resulting in potentially serious burns. We could not recognize that perhaps we twisted an ankle when walking down the stairs, thus continued walking on that foot would exacerbate the injury to the point of not being able to walk at all. Indeed, pain is not pleasant, but in many cases it is an important way for our nervous system to learn from and react to the environment.
Whenever pain or a headache is felt people will immediately reach for the bottle of Aspirin they have in their medicine cabinet. For many years this has been the solution to any pain a person feels. As much as Aspirin will help to cure symptoms of pain it may also being doing the body harm. More and more studies have brought many harmful side effects to the surface. The question now comes into play of if Aspirin is actually doing more harm than good.
Osteoarthritis is not a curable condition, but it can be treated using both pharmacological and nonpharmacological methods. Mild analgesics are a common form of treatment for OA, including Acetaminophen and NSAIDs, taking into consideration other co-morbidities that may be present. It is recommended that adults over 75 years of age utilize topical NSAIDs rather than oral for treatment of the pain (Tugwell et al, 2012). Research by A...
Some people alternate the use of other OTC such as Aspirin, which also has other dangerous effects , but hopefully will reduce acetaminophen toxicity.
Davies NM, Reynolds JK, Undeberg MR, Gates BJ, Ohgami Y, Vega-Villa KR. Minimizing risks of NSAIDs: cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and renal. Expert Rev Neurother. 2006 Nov;6(11):1643-55.
Rationale. Pain is one of the most common reasons why individuals seek medical attention in a health care setting. Clarifying the concept of pain will help health care providers provide the best effective care of pain and pain management.
Lindley, P., Pestano, C. R., & Gargiulo, K. (2009). Comparison of postoperative pain management using two patient-controlled analgesia methods: Nursing perspective. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(7), 1370-1380. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.04991.x
The major concepts deduced from the hypothesis fall under three categories: (1) multimodal intervention, (2) attentive care, and (3) patient participation. Multimodal intervention includes the concepts of potent pain medication, pharmacological adjuvants, and non-pharmacological adjuvants. Attentive care relates to the assessment of pain and side effects and intervention along with reassessments. Patient participation includes goal setting and patient education. The resulting outcome of these three categories working together is the balance between analgesia and side effects.
Background Information Aspirin is an analgesic (pain relieving) and an antipyretic drug (a drug that lowers body temperature). The main constituent of aspirin is 2 - ethanoythydroxybenzoic acid, also known as acetylsalicyclic acid (shown below right). It was originally made from just salicylic acid (which is found in the bark of a willow tree) when used by the Ancient Greeks to counter fever and pain, but its bitterness and tendency to irritate the stomach caused problems. These were resolved by the German chemist Felix Hoffman, who made the acetyl derivative of salicylic acid in the
"An aspirin a day keeps the doctor away." Although this saying can be true, it is not only aspirin that can cure the pains of life, but also several other types of analgesics. There are a wide variety of analgesics. More commonly known as painkillers. The narcotic analgesics act on the central nervous system and change the user's perception; they are more often used for severe pain and can make the user develop an addiction. The nonnarcotic analgesics, known as over the counter or OTC, work at the site of the pain. These do not create tolerance or dependence and do not vary the user's perception. OTC's are more commonly used everyday to treat mild pain.
Pain, a word that is always associated with getting hurt. The real question now is how it hurt. In life people experience many types of pain. There are two different kinds of pain; physical and mental. The physical part of pain is like falling from something, cutting your arm, or stubbing your toe. The mental part of pain is like hurting someone’s feeling from saying something harsh or doing something to them emotionally, which hurts inside. The causes and effects of physical and mental pain are very different but can be both equally devastating and even more dramatic with emotionally disturbed people.