Back Pain Analgesics

Many people suffer from back pain for many reasons. Pregnancy is one factor. Bad posture is another. Working for long hours in one position, without ample back support and protection also contributes to pain.

If you experience back pain, you can relieve yourself by taking medication. Analgesics are most commonly taken to ease the physical aches caused by a strained back. Analgesics are medicines that have been specially formulated do a specific function: reduce pain. There are over-the-counter analgesics as well as prescription analgesics.

Back pain analgesics that can be bought over-the-counter or without a doctor's prescription are aspirin and acetaminophen. These are usually taken by those who suffer regularly from back pain. The analgesics that can only be purchased through a prescription includes oxycodone with acetaminophen, and hydrocodone with acetaminophen. This kind of analgesic, however, relieves pain for a short period of time only. Prescription analgesics are often prescribed to people who have just undergone surgery.

Aside from medicines that are taken orally to alleviate pain, there are also back pain analgesics that are topical. Topical medications are not ingested. Rather, they are applied directly to the body part where pain is felt. Back pain analgesics in their topical form are applied on the affected areas of your back. These topical medicines come in various forms such as creams, ointments and salves. When applied on the skin, it recommended that you do so in circular, massaging motions to distribute the medicine evenly, allowing it to work better and faster. During application, the medicine oftentimes produces a hot and stinging effect. This goes a long way in relieving back pain sufferers.

If you suffer from back pain, it would be advisable to consult your physician or doctor first. Get a professional opinion before you take analgesics or apply them to your skin.

Opioid and Non-Opioid

Differences Between Opioid and Non-Opioid Analgesics

There are two primary types of analgesics: narcotic (opioid) and non-narcotic (nonopioid) analgesics.

Non-narcotic analgesics are drugs that have principally analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory actions. Acetaminophen is the most commonly used over-the-counter non-narcotic analgesic. Other drugs are not technically part of the analgesic family, but are nonetheless considered analgesics in practice. These include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin.

Acetaminophen and NSAIDs can effectively relieve mild to moderate headache and pain of musculoskeletal origin. For moderate to severe pain, they can be used in combination with opioid drugs to enhance pain relief.

Opioids are stronger analgesics that are used when pain signals are too severe to be controlled by non-narcotic analgesics.

The primary difference between opioids and non-opioids is in the way how they produce their analgesic effects. The opioid drugs reduce pain by working on special pain receptors in the nervous system, primarily located in the brain and spinal cord. The non-opioids, on the other hand, work more directly on injured body tissues. The opioids decrease the brain's awareness of the pain, whereas the non-opioids affect some of the chemical changes that normally take place wherever body tissues are injured or damaged. These chemical changes at the site of the injury typically result in inflammation and increased pain sensitivity.

The long-term use of opioids can lead to tolerance, dose escalation, and physical dependence. Tolerance refers to the fact that the drug loses itТs pain relieving effectiveness when used over time. That is, tolerance occurs when you need to take more of the drug in order to obtain the same degree of pain relief. However, tolerance is not considered to be a problem by most pain specialists. Many patients with chronic pain who are taking opioids are able to maintain their dosage level without increasing the amount taken.

Physical dependence is an automatic consequence of taking opioids over time. Physical dependence is apparent when one abruptly stops taking the drug or reduces the amount taken, which leads to withdrawal reactions.

Non-opioid pain relievers are often preferred for most types of chronic pain, because they do not produce tolerance or physical dependence and are not associated with abuse or addiction. However, they have two serious drawbacks. The first drawback has to do with ceiling effects. Non-opioids have upper limit of pain relief that can be achieved. Once that upper limit or ceiling is reached, taking additional medication will not provide any further pain relief. Opioids, on the other hand, tend not to have a ceiling. That is, the more you take, the more pain relief you will get. It is for this reason that non-opioids are effective only for mild to moderate pain, whereas opioids are useful for more severe pain intensity.

The second major drawback of the non-opioids are their side effects. Although most non-opioids are quite safe when used for temporary acute pain, problems may arise when people take them over a long period of time (for chronic pain). This is especially true when large quantities of non-opioids are taken. Most are aware of the adverse effects of these drugs on the gastrointestinal system. However, excessive use of the non-opioids can also damage your liver or your kidneys. Opioids have negative side effects as well. However, it is interesting that many pain specialists now believe that opioids, when used as prescribed, are often safer than the non-opioids. Side effects of the opioids include respiratory depression, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, sedation, and mental clouding. Many of these side effects can be minimized or eliminated with proper medical management.

Varieties Of Drugs

Varieties Of Drugs - Analgesics, Anesthetics, And Antibiotics

ANALGESICS:- Analgesics are the drugs used to kill pain. They induce condition of near unconsciousness with the brain's interpretation of the signals. They may produce habit formation and tolerance. There are basically two kinds of analgesics. They are 1. Non-narcotics and 2. Narcotics. The best example for Non-narcotics analgesics is acetaminophen and for Narcotics analgesics is Morphine.

Some of the drugs of non-narcotic drugs reduce fever, pain and inflammation in joint disorders. These agents are not steroid harmones and are known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Examples of nonsteroidal antiflammatory drug are libuprofen (Motrin, Advil) and naproxen (Naprosen).

ANESTHETICS:- An anesthetic is an agent that reduces or eliminates sensation. If the affect is on the whole body then it is said to be general anesthetic or if the effect is on the particular region then it is said to be local anesthetic.

Generally these anesthetics are used for surgical procedures and depress the activity of the central nervous system, producing loss of consciousness. i.e, in general these anesthetics are used to create numbness in the body wherever we want. Local anesthetics inhibit the conduction of impulses in sensory nerves in the region in which they are injected or applied.

Examples of general anesthetics are ether-hatothane (Fluothane), oxide-thiopental (Pentothal) and local anesthetics are hydrocortisone acetate (Orabase), lidocaine (Xylocaine).

ANTIBIOTICS:- A chemical substance produced by a microorganism that inhibits or stops the growth of bacteria, fungi or parasites is said to be antibiotics. Example for microorganism are bacterium, yeast or mold). These antibiotics are largely used to control many diseases such as rheumatic fever, pneumonia, malaria, dengue etc. Pencillin was the first antibiotic used in the year 1945. The use of antibiotics is warranted because they are some powerful agents. Pathogenic organisms can develop resistance to the antibiotic and thus destroy the disease. Thus antibiotics are having the capacity of disease-fighting capability