lil angel15
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Painkiller nation
Simon Castles
March 7, 2007 - 2:53PM
It says something about our love of painkillers that 7-Eleven stores now have mini-packs of Panadol and Nurofen for sale at the counter.
For a few bucks, and with the easy complacency of picking up chewing gum or a chockie, you can buy a couple of little helpers. Simply wash them down and you’re on your way, ready to face the rush and rage of modern life.
Supermarkets are there to help, too. Flick a pack of painkillers into your trolley with the shampoo and tissues. Major brands are stacked into shelves high and low, with packets that lure with words such as “rapid”, “extra” and “plus”, not to mention that priceless noun “relief”. There’s also a super cheap home-brand selection, and even a variety of painkiller that comes not in a capsule or pill, but in a “meltlet”, a lemon-fl avoured lozenge that you just suck for serenity. No bothersome water required.
There’s plenty to be said for such convenient aid. Why suffer when you don’t have to? We should be thankful to live in an age in which even the poorest of us can get some minor pain relief. Bless our painkiller nation. But when it comes to popping a pill, even a common aspirin or paracetamol, we ought to be judicious. That doesn’t mean not having a painkiller: it just means not gobbling one as if it were a lolly.
We are pretty quick to reach for a pill in Australia. According to the Bureau of Statistics, about a quarter of us take a painkiller in any two-week period, with women taking more than men. It adds up to big sales for big pharma. The market in analgesics is worth $200 million plus a year.
According to a report by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, more than 30 million packets of paracetamol alone are sold in Australia each year. We swallow painkillers with a slightly disturbing indifference fostered by plain old familiarity.
“People need to be aware of the potential dangers of all painkillers,” says Mukesh Haikerwal, president of the Australian Medical Association. “Putting painkillers on supermarket shelves makes it seem as if there are no problems associated with them at all — and there are problems associated with them.” Problems, yes — though, to quote the famous fridge magnet, be alert, not alarmed.
Painkillers are only as dangerous as we make them when we ignore warnings or advice. Of particular concern at present is the non-steroidal anti-infl ammatory drug ibuprofen, which we mostly know as Nurofen. A number of recent studies have claimed that the drug increases the risk of heart failure, miscarriage, gastro-intestinal problems and asthma. Gregory Peterson, a professor of pharmacy at the University of Tasmania, believes ibuprofen, which has been available in supermarkets since 2004, may not be suitable for up to 20 per cent of adults. He’s keen to see the drug returned to being a pharmacies-only medication.
“Having it available just in pharmacies adds an extra layer of safety,” Peterson says.
“It’s behind the counter and pharmacy staff can check with the consumer about whether the drug is right for them.”
Other common painkillers also have drawbacks. Too much aspirin can cause stomach ulcers and bleeding. Paracetamol is considered a good, safe drug with few side effects, but an overdose can cause fatal liver damage. It is often the drug abused by people attempting suicide. Indeed, because of the danger of overdose, painkillers are sold only in small packets in supermarkets.
Warnings about the dangers and side effects of painkillers are, of course, spelt out on the packets. But many health professionals worry that, with the move to make painkillers more freely available, people hardly view them as “real medicine” any longer. Out of the sober environment of a pharmacy, it’s all too easy to see painkillers as about as dangerous as a pack of Life Savers. And who studies the label on Life Savers?
A Newspoll commissioned by the maker of Nurofen found that one Australian in five is unlikely to read the label on painkillers. And the statistic is probably fl attering to us. No one likes to volunteer their own carelessness.
“Although you’ve got directions on packaging that you must not exceed this or that dose, that you must use as directed and see a doctor if pain persists, those messages tend to get drowned out,” says Haikerwal.
“It’s important for us to revisit them.”
Whatever the downsides to common painkillers, they are, understandably, very popular. Who of us doesn’t suffer from an occasional throbbing ache in the head, back, or neck? From muscle strain or joint pain? From high fever?
Women get cursed with period pain, and most men come down with a mysterious monthly dose of something (spousal diagnosis: hypochondria) that needs urgent pharmaceutical attention.
So we reach for the handy pack that’s always in the cupboard, the handbag or the desk drawer. Even the sound of the pill cracking through its silver seal can be soothing. Don’t worry, that metallic pop seems to say, help is on the way.
Disturbingly, however, we don’t only use painkillers to kill pain. According to the 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, painkillers were the fifth most common drugs used for non-medical purposes. As many 12-to-19-year-olds used painkillers to experience some sort of high or comfortable numbness as used ecstasy.
Perhaps parents should worry less about the spectre of the shady drug dealer and more about the bathroom cupboard.
“There is certainly inappropriate use of painkillers,” says Donna Bull, chief executive of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia. “And addiction can happen. Something like codeine is an opiate medication, so it’s from the same drug family, if you like, as things like heroin and morphine. So there is quite high dependence potential.”
And painkillers do have form in this area. Mixed in syrups, heroin itself was a painkiller in Australia as recently as the ’50s. It was only banned after the Menzies government bowed to pressure from the United Nations. At the time, Australians were among the biggest consumers per capita of heroin in the world.
But for all Australia’s long history and general acceptance of painkillers, there are still plenty of stoics out there who refuse to take a pill no matter how much agony they’re in. Some people take too many painkillers, others probably don’t take enough.
“We have a funny view that putting up with pain makes you a hero and worthy of a round of applause. Or that it builds character,” says Geraldine Moses, a senior pharmacist with the Adverse Medicine Events Line.
She says that those suffering chronic pain are wrong to try to endure it; to want to hold out till it gets really bad before taking a pill.
“Pain is a signal from the body to say something’s wrong,” she says. “If that pain goes unrelieved, it gets worse. It ‘winds up’. It’s better to attack the pain early.”
The upshot on painkillers is that there are times when it’s wise to swallow a pill and times when it’s not so wise. Individuals must make educated decisions or ask a doctor or pharmacist. It’s about being informed, following directions and weighing up benefi ts and risks.
“Painkillers are just tools that do a job,” says Moses, “It’s the way we use them that makes them all right or not all right. So, if you’re going to use a painkiller, take the most effective and safe one for you. And take it in the right dose in the right way at the right time.”
PAINKILLERS AT A GLANCE
Paracetamol is good for general aches and pains and for fevers. It doesn’t reduce infl ammation. It has few side effects, though an overdose can cause liver failure.
Ibuprofen and aspirin are nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs. They’re good for pain involving inflammation, for reducing fever, and for general aches and pains. They shouldn’t be taken by anyone with stomach, kidney or heart problems, or by pregnant women, before consulting a doctor. They may interact badly with other medications.
Codeine is good for strong pain — such as after tooth extractions or surgery. Its use is limited by quite a number of possible side effects including constipation, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting. It’s best taken in consultation with a doctor.
SMH
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
