Problems that can occur when you overdose on anti-inflammatory drugs
Analgesics are the medicines that we are most familiar with. There are dozens of them, including aspirin, bulupen, naxen, and airtal. Since it is an over-the-counter drug, anyone can easily buy it at pharmacies or supermarkets without a doctor's prescription. However, if you eat it recklessly, you may experience disappointment.
First, let's look at why we are sick.
When cells are damaged by wounds or infections, substances called 'prostaglandins' are synthesized. This is what causes inflammation and pain.
The anti-inflammatories we take are absorbed from the stomach and spread through the blood to every corner of the body, reducing the production of prostaglandins that are made here and there. Therefore, it has the effect of relieving pain and inflammation in various parts of the body.
Prostaglandins don't have to be responsible for inflammation. It also works for some of our bodies. In particular, it has a protective function in the stomach, platelets, kidneys, and endothelial cells. However, when taking anti-inflammatory drugs, even these beneficial effects are suppressed, which can lead to side effects, especially ulcers in the stomach. In addition to stomach ulcers, overdose can cause serious side effects such as bleeding from internal organs or heart attacks, so it is not something to be taken lightly.
Research on overdose of anti-inflammatory drugs
Let's take a look at a recent study published in the United States. This is a study on the overdose of analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs. The study involved 1,326 people and asked them to keep a daily medication diary for a week. All of them took ibuprofen (the same ingredient as burufen), and 87% bought the drug without a prescription at pharmacies.
However, as shown in the table, 11% of ibuprofen users took doses that exceeded the maximum daily allowance. Aspirin was relatively low at 0.6 percent, but 23 percent of naproxen (known as Naxen in Korea), 43 percent of meloxicam (brand name Mobic), and 27 percent of diclofenac (brand name Dinax) took doses that exceeded the maximum daily allowance.
I think the results of this study are obvious. Since anti-inflammatory drugs can be freely purchased at convenience stores and pharmacies, awareness of the risks is slim. Most importantly, it is much easier and more convenient for the patient to buy another dose and take a higher dose than to seek professional advice from a doctor if the pain is not well controlled.
2 ways to take anti-inflammatory medications correctly
This is because, as in the Dutch paper above, analgesics should be taken in conjunction with medications that can protect the stomach, such as acid suppressants, depending on the situation. Of course, these preventative medications should be prescribed by a doctor. Many people have a misconception that over-the-counter drugs don't need a prescription, so you can take them as you please. This is incorrect. Over-the-counter medications are medications that are approved to be purchased without a doctor's prescription for drugs that have relatively few side effects to reduce the hassle of visiting a doctor for minor ailments. The important thing is that there are few side effects, not that there are none. As we have seen in the previous paper, in many cases, excess of the dose can cause side effects such as stomach ulcers and bleeding. As a general rule, over-the-counter medications are safest to take with a prescription from a doctor who is a specialist. Anti-inflammatory drugs are also recommended to be taken that way.
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