Pain, Painkillers and Homeopathy

Pain is the most common symptom which compel patients to consult physician. Severe pains has many causes some are permanently curable others have chronic causes which are not easily curable. Pain killers are most common over the counter(OTC) selling drugs. Most common causes of pain for which patients taking pain killers are Recurring Headache/Migraine, Arthritis, Backache. These days we see painkillers as a normal part of everyday life. There are three(3) category of main Pain killers in Modern medicine( Allopathy).

1. NSAIDs (Non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs)– Aspirin and ibuprofen are two most used drugs of this category. These drugs reduce Pain, Inflammation, Fever – so it is used in arthritis,backache,rheumatism,headache,period pains. Low dose of aspirin in daily dose can thin the blood,so it reduce risk of clots that can lead to heart attack and stroke. Ibuprofen and aspirin also protect against breast cancer,cancer of mouth,colon,throat and esophagus up to some extent.
Possible side effects of NSAIDs are Ulcers of stomach,bleeding from ulcers, Asthmatic Attacks, renal failure and these medicines may interact with another medicines badly, can damage unborn child(not safe in pregnancy). If you take these medicines longer over months ,side effects may be manifold.

2. Paracetamol– It is not NSAIDs. It is supposed to be safest painkiller. But mild overdoses may be fatal. It reduce only Pain and Fever but does not relieve inflammation. People using very frequently and erroneously even in children as CALPOL( infant paracetamol) for “preventing” night time waking.
Mild overdose may damage liver. An overdose of 15 g may cause fatal liver damage. If anyone has already poor liver functions or an alcoholic then these side effects may be more severe.

3. Opoids– Codeine is one of the stronger pain killers related to “Morphine”. It is very effective even in severe pains. But it has more side effects as Nausea, Vomiting, Drowsiness, Constipation, Itching,Dry Mouth, Sweating and Hallucination. Beside all these side effects codeine may develop addiction.

Few Rules about pain killers:-

1. Always take prescribed Painkillers by your Physician.
2. Always follow dosages written on bottle is you use pain killers for 2-3 days without advise of your doctor.
3. In chronic pain condition always talk to your doctor about long term therapy, don’t forget to discuss risks with benefits.
4. Pain killers may be effective but they are not risk free.

Role of homeopathy in Pain management:-

Homeopathic medicine are prescribed in very minute doses. These medicines does not work directly on nerves to desensitize pain. But homeopathic medicines try to remove the cause behind pain. It means homeopathic medicines have capacity to cure the long term chronic diseases. Many of the cases of Migraine, Chronic headache, Backache, Arthritis, Spondylitis, Period pains in women are curable permanently .
Homeopathic medicines can not be used simply as pain killers to reduce pain whenever needed. But homeopathic medicine must be taken continually as prescribed by Homeopath. Homeopathy has more then 310 medicines for different type of pains. But homeopathic medicines can only be prescribe on individuality of each patient according the modalities, location, sensation, severity, coexisting symptoms with pain. There are no common painkillers as in modern medicine.