Pain medications can be fatal if ingested

Painkillers can cause liver damage and even be fatal

01/22/2012

Every day, millions of Germans safely administer over-the-counter painkillers to alleviate symptoms such as headaches, migraines or back problems. What many people do not know is that even the smallest amounts of active ingredients can cause liver damage or, in the worst case, lead to death. For some time now, critical physicians have been calling for prescription of pain relievers such as acetaminophen.

Liver damage and severe side effects
The use of painkillers after an alcohol night, back pain or headache is now commonplace for many people. Every year about 3.8 million people in Germany consume non-prescription pain medicines. Because it is not necessary to have a prescription by a GP, many mistakenly assume that remedies such as acetaminophen or aspirin are harmless to health. The advertising of the pharmaceutical industry also often suggests harmlessness to patients. The standard sentence: "If you have any questions, contact the doctor or pharmacist" will be lost to most people. Pain medications without prescription are by no means harmless, but can produce massive side effects. In the worst cases, consumers suffer permanent liver damage and some even die from the painkillers.

Overdose is toxic
A big danger is the overdose. Professor Kay Brune from the University of Erlangen sounds the alarm. Compared to the magazine "Focus" said Brune, drugs such as acetaminophen "would not be approved today, not even on prescription." Even the small amount of four grams of the active ingredient per day may provoke severe liver damage in some patients. "Four grams is the maximum maximum dose per day," explains the expert. If a pain patient takes the doubly permitted amount of eight grams, then an acute liver failure is imminent. Therefore, the medical expert advises against the use of acetaminophen. "We have a drug on the market here that is lethal even with little overdose. And that's not a nice death, it takes over several days, "warns the drug expert. He demands that the drug should be taken from the drug market for this reason.

Aspirin has always been celebrated as a panacea of ​​conventional medicine. In addition to complaints such as headaches, the drug should also effectively support conventional therapies for cardiovascular diseases. But even this pain medication is a thorn in the eye of the professor. The active ingredient acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) is recommended only for those with severe cardiovascular diseases such as a lived heart attack. The substance ASA acts only briefly for pain, but dilute the blood in the longer term. Therefore, often medical interventions would have to be postponed because the surgical patient had previously taken ASA. Anyone who takes aspirin, enter a "completely unnecessary risk of bleeding," warns Brune.

Beware of combined painkillers
The renowned researcher is also concerned about the approval of combined pain preparations. These contain several different active ingredients that are combined with each other. These are "particularly risky" because patients easily lose the necessary overview. Many people are poor at estimating what amounts they have consumed with the combination preparations. The damaging effects on health are usually higher than the analgesic effect.

Is not the pharmaceutical industry interested in minimizing side effects, or why is the debate over these remedies stalling? Brune told the news magazine that both drugs are not patented. Therefore, drug manufacturers do not want to cover the costs of further research. Competitors would benefit equally from the results, explains the scientist.

If pain sufferers have to take drugs for pain relief, patients should rather resort to ibuprofen or deiclofenac instead of aspirin or acetaminophen, says Brune. But even here, there are health risks, especially when the maximum levels are exceeded. Although the named substances are better scientifically researched and generally more compatible, these drugs are also highly effective in their potency and should not be confused with simple cough drops. Misuse may damage the protective mechanisms of the vessels. Crucial is the dose, the expert said.

Research from the past by Bernese epidemiologists led by Prof. Peter Jüni showed, for example, that ibuprofen increases the risk of stroke three-fold if the drug is taken continuously by volunteers over a long period of time. In a metastatic study of 31 studies and approximately 1160,000 study participants, the researchers achieved the worrying result.

Better exercise and acupuncture
Patients with recurrent pain usually remain only the causative treatment. Alternatively, non-medical practitioners recommend acupuncture, which has already delivered good results in head and back pain in several scientific papers. Even natural remedies or home remedies can relieve mild pain and are usually very well tolerated. Prof. Peter Jüni also advises patients to actively move. This is more exhausting than taking a pill, but more successful in the longer term. (Sb)

Also read:
Painkillers cause rising costs
Pain medication as a cause of pain?
Non-prescription medicines by no means harmless
Home remedies for headaches