Meds that relieve pain are valuable tools for doctors and patients. But, like all drugs, they can have side effects, and some of those can be serious. Here’s a look at some of the most common painkillers and what you need to know if you take them.
Over-the-Counter Products
The most common painkillers are ones you can buy in a store without a prescription, or “over the counter.” These products include acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen. People usually take them for mild pains or fevers.
Aspirin
Aspirin is the oldest of a family of medicines known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. While they can relieve pain, they can also cause your stomach to bleed if you take them for a long time. (So can other NSAIDs.) This can cause problems from simple indigestion to stomach ulcers.
Taking a lot of NSAIDs may cause kidney damage.
You shouldn’t give aspirin to children because of the risk of a life-threatening condition called Reye’s syndrome, which attacks the brain and liver.
Doctors often recommend aspirin for people who are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke, because it can prevent blood clots. But since it can cause bleeding, taking aspirin every day also raises the odds of one kind of stroke that involves bleeding in the brain.
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