Well, unluckily, a lot of people nowadays use the painkiller ibuprofen on a daily basis! Some people use it when they have a headache, others when they experience muscle pain or other health problems.
Ibuprofen, (also known by the name Motrin and Advil), and other anti-inflammatory drugs are in the news again, and not for a good reason.
Many medical specialists throughout the world claim that these drugs have serious side effects and are a major cause of drug-induced injury.
According to the latest statistics, the medical experts say that these drugs are estimated to cause at least 16,000 deaths per year and send 100,000 people to the emergency room in the U.S.
You should know that the most common problems caused by these nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs are: digestive ulcers and associated bleeding. Well, this is why some doctors and medical experts give a drug to reduce stomach acid to minimize the stomach-damaging effects of NSAIDs.
But, you should be careful as well, because that drug is not without side effects of its own. Many different studies have discovered an increased risk of other conditions, including atrial fibrillation, where the heartbeat becomes rapid and weak; kidney damage; and delayed or blocked healing, both of fractures and soft tissue injuries.
Better Safe Than Sorry
The million-dollar question – how ibuprofen works?
We can answer that for you – it works by blocking the formation of prostaglandin, prostacyclin and thromboxane products, which are important mediators of inflammation and pain.
And, when the drug is metabolized by the liver, it most strongly affects this organ, causing injury, liver failure, or disease (jaundice) over time. The FDA has also warned against the use of these drugs since 2005 because it increases your risk of heart attack.
The organization has since emphasized the warning with the following information:
Heart attack and stroke risk increase even with short-term use, and the risk may begin within a few weeks of starting to take an NSAID.
You should know that this risk increases with higher doses of NSAIDs taken for longer periods of time. And, unfortunately, the risk is high, especially for people who already have heart disease, though even people without heart disease may be at risk.
You should also know that ibuprofen and other NSAIDs can also raise blood pressure and cause heart failure, even with short-term use. This is really dangerous, especially for people over 40, who have a much higher risk of heart disease than younger adults.
Because it takes a long to feel the destructive effects of NSAIDs, most people simply ignore these warnings and underestimate the danger of these drugs. Instead, they continue to rely on pills for daily aches and pains.
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