NSAIDs are not merely painkillers

A friend of mine visited a doctor after his severe sore throat. The doctor examined him, said it was just a viral infection, and prescribed him NSAIDs for pain and fever for three days. Upon asking, what medicines have he been suggested, he replied with an unsatisfactory remark, just a painkiller. He added, he is not going to take it as painkillers have only side effects and pain management is just symptomatic relief, not a cure.

Well, NSAIDs are more than just painkillers.

Pain is induced because of pathological changes in tissues either by injury or infection or an auto-immune mechanism, simply called inflammation. During inflammation, inflammatory mediators are released. An interesting fact is, little of the little inflammatory mediators can attract more of the inflammatory mediators and the chain of inflammation prolongs.

NSAIDs help to break the chain of inflammation by suppressing pain and fever-causing inflammatory mediators.

So when a doctor is prescribing NSAID, it is always good to take it for a suggested period. The motive is not just to relieve pain but to end the underlying inflammatory mechanism causing pain.

Yes, NSAIDs indeed come with their fair share of side effects. That is why; prolonged use without medical advice should be highly discouraged.



                                                      Picture Source: www.health.harvard.edu

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