Acute Pain Treatment Remedies: From NSAIDs to Opioids

If you suffer from acute pain, there are a variety of options available to you. From over-the-counter medications to prescription narcotics, controlling pain has become a profitable business in the United States.

For many of us, acute pain is quite common. Using a product that contains acetaminophen is usually the first line of treatment. However, in most cases, only one out of every four patients reports an improvement in pain with acetaminophen products.

As an option to acetaminophen products, many acute pain sufferers turn to NSAIDs as a viable option. In fact, in most cases, NSAIDs provide the same analgesic effect as acetaminophen but actually improve pain outcomes. In most cases, NSAIDs even work better than most narcotics, when used at the outset of acute pain.

Unfortunately, not all patients can use NSAIDs to fight acute pain due to the potential complications associated with gastrointestinal upset, GI bleeding and kidney disorder. In these cases, when acetaminophen is not effective, the physician will usually turn to select opioids for use.

Opioids, as a prescription for acute pain relief, present their own set of health complications. While generally not a risk to your health as NSAIDs or aspirin, opioids do have significant side effects that would not normally be found in NSAIDs or aspirin. Side effects of opioid use include drowsiness, nausea and even constipation. However, the advantage to using an opioid lies in the dosing capacity which allows for any unlimited dosing level until the right analgesic effect is achieved.

One of the most often prescribed prescription pain relievers on the market is the product Tramadol. As a product that provides the benefits of opioids, Tramadol has not shown to be effective in alleviating most forms of pain, is easily overdosed due to the lack of analgesic effects and can result in neurological complications when used.