Analgesics are drugs of various origins that reduce or eliminate the feeling of pain. In terms of composition, principle of action, they are divided into several main groups, significantly differing in the intensity of exposure and purpose.
The one thing that all pain relievers have in common is that they never treat the cause of the disease, but only treat the symptoms.
The editorial staff of the site "bestx.htgetrid.com/en/" wrote detailed instructions on how to choose a suitable and safe pain reliever, and also made a review of effective drugs.
Content
What painkillers are
Medicines are of natural and artificial origin. Also, drugs can be conditionally divided into three groups, according to the type of effect on the body:
- Biochemical factor.
- Acting directly on the site of pain.
- On the contrary, blocking the transmission of pain signals to the brain.
- Narcotic factor.
- Narcotic analgesics - agonists, partial agonists of opioid receptors.
- Non-narcotic analgesics are non-opioid drugs that can bring down the temperature.
- Anti-inflammatory factor.
- Antipyretics, antipyretics - lower body temperature, but do not suppress inflammation.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - inhibit inflammatory processes.
When to take analgesics
- Pain in muscles, joints after overexertion, hard work;
- Articular apparatus pathologies;
- Minor injuries - sprains, bruises, cuts, small burns, minor abrasions;
- Temporary support for a diseased tooth. Only before going to the doctor, of course.
- Tension headache, migraine attack.
It is categorically impossible:
- sharp, cutting pain in the abdomen.
Criterias of choice
The choice of any medicine, including pain relievers, is a serious and difficult matter. You cannot rely on colorful TV ads or girlfriend reviews. The best option is to see a doctor.
If you do not have time or desire to go to the clinic, then carefully study its instructions before buying the medicine.
Pay attention to the composition and active ingredient. Find out if you are allergic to any of the ingredients. By the way, knowing the name of the active ingredient, you can save a lot.
Most expensive and well-known medicines have similar medicines or
generics are copies of drugs that exactly match the originals in terms of the amount of active ingredient and the type of action on the body.
For example, the Russian generic drug Drotaverin is five times cheaper than the original Hungarian No-shpa.
The disadvantages of generics include the fact that some manufacturers save a lot on raw materials, which affects the quality of products.
Also carefully study the interaction of the drug with other medicinal substances, contraindications and special instructions. So you will save yourself from surprises, sudden exacerbations of chronic diseases or the appearance of a new misfortune.
Study the side effects - it is possible that the chosen drug reduces concentration, and you constantly spend time driving, or it can cause hives, and appearance is your business card and is important at work.
Mistakes in choosing and taking painkillers
- Overdose. If the doctor has prescribed one tablet twice a day, then follow his instructions. If you are self-medicating, then:
- Use the medicine symptomatically - only when pain appears. Just like that, "for prophylaxis", you should not do it - firstly, painkillers do not cure, and secondly, the body gets used to many of them.
- Try to start treatment with a small dose, you do not need to drink several tablets at a time.
Remember that overdose increases the likelihood of side effects.
- Alcohol. All analgesics are incompatible with alcohol. The negative consequences of such a cocktail are different, and depend on the type of analgesic, the characteristics of the body, the concentration of alcohol
- Drug interactions. Always remember or write down what you take with what. The wrong combination of drugs can cost your life.
- You - me, I - you. Do not take strangers, and do not share your medicines with others. In the first case, you may not know for sure what kind of drug it is, so this is just a reasonable discretion, and in the second, caution. Only a doctor in the workplace can dispense medicine to a patient. You, not knowing all the "sores" of an acquaintance, can harm, and still remain guilty.
- We shared analgin, there are many of us, but he is one. When it is possible and when it is impossible to break the pill A pill can be divided if there is a special risk on it. If the tablet is a gelatin capsule with a medicine inside or the pill is multilayer, and the top layer is protective, then you should not saw it. Taking a reduced dose of the drug reduces the effectiveness of treatment. Taking a pill with a broken coating may be generally useless.
- Delay. Medicines, like any other product, have a shelf life. After its expiration, they turn, at best, into a dummy, at worst - into poison. Even if this is an expensive medicine, its term has passed only a month ago and it looks like it has not changed - do not risk it! Throw it away, health is more expensive.
- Not only the name, but also the form. When choosing a drug, pay attention to the release form. For example, in case of pain in joints and muscles, external preparations - plasters, gels, creams - act faster. In addition, they are significantly safer than injections and pills, since when they are used, the risk of side effects is lower.
- Strictly on schedule. It is better to take medications after meals, even small ones. The reason is that all NSAIDs irritate the stomach lining.
Top manufacturers
Having remembered the main criteria for choosing a product, let's move on to solving the question "Which company is better to give preference to?" It is worth choosing not for the price or advertising of the models, but for the quality of the products.
The following brands of drugs are famous for advanced technologies, high-quality materials and drug efficacy:
- CHINOIN Pharmaceutical and Chemical Works Private Co. Ltd. (Hungary),
- Terapia S.A. (Romania),
- Micro Labs Ltd (India),
- Tatkhimpharmpreparaty (Russia),
- Pharmstandard OTS (Russia),
- Pharmstandard-Leksredstva (Russia).
Rating of quality pain relievers for 2020
The review presents the most effective pain relievers for all occasions.
Brief descriptions of drugs contain the main characteristics - the type of action on the body, composition, price, as well as pros and cons, purpose.
Ibuprofen
Analgesic and antipyretic agent from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Active ingredient: Ibuprofen.
Average price: 48 rubles.
Advantages:
- low cost;
- suitable for adults and children;
- effective for headaches, migraines;
- relieves muscle pain;
- relieves pain syndrome with injuries, sprains, bruises;
- helps to calmly survive menstruation;
- relieves symptoms of acute respiratory infections, flu, fever;
- effective for joint diseases.
Disadvantages:
- like any NSAID can only temporarily relieve the symptoms of the disease.
Pentalgin
Combined medicine that acts in four directions - as an analgesic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic.
Active ingredient: Paracetamol + naproxen + caffeine + drotaverine g / x + pheniramine.
Average price: 171 rubles.
Advantages:
- various forms of release;
- helps with painful periods;
- relieves painful syndrome of various origins;
- effective for PTSD;
- relieves inflammation;
- reduces body temperature;
- quickly acts in case of acute respiratory infections, fever.
Disadvantages:
- cost;
- cannot be used by children;
- cannot be combined with other NSAIDs;
- for the duration of treatment, you should refuse alcohol-containing drinks, coffee.
Paracetamol
A budget effective non-steroidal pain reliever, it also has antipyretic effects.
Active ingredient: Paracetamol.
Average price: 15 rubles.
Advantages:
- inexpensive;
- a variety of release forms - capsules, lozenges, tablets;
- dispensed without a prescription;
- safe - a minimum of contraindications;
- suitable for children;
- acts quickly;
- antipyretic, treats fever;
- relieves headache, migraine;
- helps with toothache;
- helps with back pain;
- relieves any muscle pain;
- relieves discomfort with arthritis;
- enhances the analgesic functions of many drugs - NSAIDs, opiates, caffeine;
- actively used in the postoperative period;
- safer than Aspirin and Analgin.
Disadvantages:
- individual intolerance to the active substance;
- chronic alcoholism.
Analgin
Time-tested and familiar to most, an effective drug belonging to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory group.
Active ingredient: Metamizole sodium.
Average price: 7 rubles.
Advantages:
- budgetary, affordable;
- fast-acting medicine;
- available as tablets, lozenges, capsules;
- practically universal - relieves headache and toothache, knocks down the temperature, helps with inflammation, fever, neuralgia, rheumatism, colic, back pain of various nature;
- relieves pain in burns and injuries.
Disadvantages:
- banned for use in many European countries due to the large number of side effects;
- weak antispasmodic;
- the medicine should not be taken for acute abdominal pains, as it masks urgent conditions.
- is addictive, over time, the body needs an increasing dose to relieve pain.
Took
The drug is used for the short-term treatment of mild, moderate pain symptoms of various origins.
This is achieved through a combination of three components:
- Metamizole sodium - anesthetic, antipyretic,
- Pitophenol - antispasmodic,
- Fenpiverinium bromide is an antispasmodic.
Active ingredients: Metamizole sodium + Pitofenone + Fenpiverinium bromide
Average price: 44 rubles.
Advantages:
- inexpensive;
- dispensed without a prescription;
- available in the form of tablets, injections;
- according to the doctor's prescription, it is possible to take the drug by children from 5 years old;
- during menstruation relieves abdominal pain, relieves cramps;
- relieves fever, inflammation, treats feverish conditions;
- indicated for joint pain, neuralgia;
- is often used as a pain reliever in the postoperative period;
- rare side effects.
Disadvantages:
- has an extensive list of contraindications: pregnancy and the period of breastfeeding, asthma, liver and kidney disease, low blood pressure;
- long-term use - more than 7 days in a row - can only be carried out under the supervision of a specialist;
- in case of personal intolerance to one of the components of the drug, it is worth stopping treatment immediately.
No-shpa
An effective drug is a myotropic antispasmodic.Reduces or completely removes muscle spasms, interfering directly with the biochemical processes in smooth muscle cells, thus reducing motor activity and smooth muscle tone.
Active ingredient: Drotaverin.
Average price: 131 rubles.
Advantages:
- available in the form of tablets, lozenges, capsules;
- non-prescription;
- relieves spasms of smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract, relieves pain in ulcers, colitis, gastritis;
- indicated for painful periods, as well as gynecological diseases - relaxes the muscles of the uterus and vagina, removes reflected back pain;
- enhances the action of other antispasmodics, such as papaverine or bendazole;
- helps with headache caused by spasm of blood vessels;
- not addictive.
Disadvantages:
- high price;
- slow-acting - spasms go away within 30-40 minutes after taking the pill;
- does not always completely remove pain;
- narrow focus of the drug;
- should not be taken during pregnancy and lactation;
- not suitable for children (drug studies have not been conducted);
- contraindicated in cardiac, hepatic, renal failure, as well as individual intolerance to drotaverine.
Ketanov
NSAIDs are a broad-spectrum analgesic with moderate anti-inflammatory and antipyretic function.
Active ingredient: Ketorolac.
Average price: 52 rubles.
Advantages:
- inexpensive;
- not addictive;
- indicated for pain syndrome of moderate and severe intensity;
- used for cancer;
- a good, less harmful analogue of opioids;
- fast acting.
Disadvantages:
- dispensed by prescription;
- like any NSAID, it does not eliminate chronic malaise;
- an extensive list of contraindications - pregnancy and the period of breastfeeding, age up to 16 years, gastrointestinal diseases, asthma, etc.
Folk remedies
For those who trust traditional medicine more, we have prepared a small list of medicinal herbs, decoctions of which successfully relieve painful sensations in various parts of the body.
- Joints - Rosemary, Ginger, Horsetail, Turmeric, Burdock
- Heart - henbane, cuff, hot red pepper, lovage, fragrant violet, marsh calamus, belladonna, aconite;
- Head - a medicinal letter, primrose, periwinkle, cherry, sweet cherry;
- The back is St. John's wort;
- Menses - St. John's wort, chamomile, oak bark;
- Teeth - cloves, chamomile, ginger;
- For pain in the intestines - St. John's wort, anise, chamomile.
Where to buy medicinal herbs
Dry herbs, various fees can be purchased at many offline and online pharmacies, specialty store or private individuals. Buying herbs from a pharmacy is the best option as all products are tested. Such chamomile did not grow near the highway, it will not be radioactive, it was not watered with harmful pesticides. You can always check who raised her and how.
If you have the desire and opportunity, you can grow useful plants on your own in your backyard or on the windowsill. The time spent on caring for them will not only be pleasantly spent, but will also pay off handsomely.
Conclusion
We hope our recommendations will help you in difficult times and make it easier to choose a quality medicine.
If you already have experience with one of the analgesics discussed in this review, or you know a more effective and efficient remedy, you can share your impressions and tips in the comments.
Be healthy!
