Harmful, addictive, toxic: Painkillers are part of the problem, not the solution
Bengaluru: It had been a popular myth that regular intake of aspirin can prevent heart attacks and strokes, but a research study has proved otherwise.
The study conducted by National Cancer Institute in United States reveals that people taking aspirin regularly are at greater risk of cancer.
City doctors say that similarly many common drugs that are used by people regularly have side-effects.
Prof (Dr) L. Sreenivasa Murthy, senior consultant physician and diabetologist, Gleneagles Global Hospitals said, “Drugs commonly used by people have apparent side-effects. For instance, opioids can cause short term effects such as nausea, constipation, slowed breathing, dizziness, impaired judgement, confusion, extreme drowsiness, and loss of consciousness. Whereas long-term effects include liver toxicity, heightened pain, memory issues, anxiety, and increased chance of injuries, not to mention that this drug is highly addictive.”
He also said the irony is that many people take the drug to deal with pain, but in reality it can increase your sensitivity to pain, worsen your pain tolerance over time, and ultimately lead to more pain.
A Lancet study also shows that using aspirin on daily basis is associated with higher risk of disabling and fatal bleeding for the people above 75 years of age.
Dr Deepesh Venkatraman, consultant interventional cardiologist, BGS Gleneagles Global Hospitals said that most allopathic drugs have recognized and declared side effects, but at times the list in the product monograph becomes too exhaustive for the comprehension of the patients and general practitioners.
“More importantly we need to acknowledge the ones which are very frequently used in common practice. Few examples include the increased incidence of diabetes with statins (cholesterol lowering drug), bone marrow depressions with some antibiotics, cognitive decline with usage of anti-epileptic drugs, hypertension and renal damage with over the counter usage of analgesics, immunosuppression and infections because of steroids etc,” Dr Deepesh added.
Experts highlighted that while in certain situations necessary to consume certain drugs for better health, but it's important to be aware of the plausible causes and maintain the dosage along with natural alternatives as much as possible.
