Pain Killers and Their Side Effects

Painkillers are drugs that are used to stop pain in the body. But how do they work? It is interesting to note that even before the modern day pain killers were discovered and used to control pain, humans were still capable of controlling pain very well. They used a variety of herbs for this purpose, such as myrtle bush leaves, willow bark and birch bark. Ancient civilizations of Egypt, India, and China were all well acquainted with the notion of management of pain. Thousands of years ago, both China and India have records of carrying out painless surgeries. How could they do that?Types of painkillersBefore we learn how pain killers work, let us find out about the different types of painkillers available in the market today. There are primarily two types of painkillers, the first being non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and the second being steroidal and opioid drugs, which are heavy-duty drugs, like morphine and codeine used to treat severe pain. How do these work?Before understanding how pain killers work, let us first find out what causes pain in the body. When you are hurt, the body produces an enzyme known as cyclooxygenase-2. The role of this enzyme is to produce pain chemicals called prostaglandins, which are released into the blood as messengers to the brain carrying information about the pain. Aspirin based drugs bind with the cylooxygenase-2 enzymes, in-turn stopping them from producing prostaglandins. Without prostaglandins, the pain would disappear because there would be no medium to carry the messages to the brain. In plain words, salicin stops pain by preventing the production of the pain chemicals; therefore, the brain is incapable of registering the message about pain. The opioids on the other hand, work both on the brain as well as on the messengers of pain that travel to the brain. These drugs stop the production of the pain chemical, too; however, in addition to that they also interfere with the brain functions altering the way it perceives realty. In this case, you would start hallucinating that everything was alright and the following changes would take place: (1) physically - you stop feeling any pain as this would be replaced with a blessed numb feeling and (2) mentally - you experience an amazing feel-good mood which completely removes your fears about your present condition.Side Effects:Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are over the counter pain killers that can be brought at any pharmacy and can be helpful in controlling pain as well as inflammation as they directly work on the site of the wound. But it is important to note that they do not come without side effects. Prolonged used of aspirin in higher doses can increase the chances of developing peptic ulcers in the lower part of the esophagus, the stomach or the beginning of the small intestine. Aspirin can also cause bleeding in the stomach and can weaken the ability of the body to slow and contain bleeding. The main issue with opioid drugs is the fact that they can be abused as the body develops a tolerance towards these drugs. Once the tolerance develops, the body requires more of the drug to produce the same pain relief effect. Among addicts, this can lead to increased intake as tolerance builds and the higher doses become harder to pin down. Opioid drugs have been known to have a lot of side effects even if not abused. Some include, constipation, respiratory depression, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, weakness, dry mouth and confusion among others.