As we become more and more tolerant with doses going up every day, the numbers affected is unimaginable (Good, et. al., 2001). Most of us get used to depending on pain-killers making the pharmaceutical companies richer as we sadly ruin our health and lives. The saying “health is wealth” applies very well for the companies but not the victimized clients. Yes want to get rid of the pain within the shortest time possible without going through long time wasting processes. We blame it all on the hard times but we know we are lying to ourselves. We all see those drugs being advertised on the media with lists of the benefits yet are the end of the day, the side effects out-number the benefits and as clients we are the ones to face the dangerous consequences.
When we seek the doctor’s help on pain, our wish is usually to get relief from pain and nobody intends to get addicted. We only take the painkillers to reduce pains such as those resulting from surgery or other sicknesses which cause a lot of pain for example cancer. Many people who use pain relieving drugs due to persistent diseases do it in the beginning with intention of having their pain reduced but they eventually find themselves becoming addict. When addiction occurs, it becomes and whole new problem. There are those painkillers which are known to be habit-formers and there are those which are not. For example SSRLs are not while Opioids are.
There are several other ways of relieving pain through management without the use of drugs. However most of the other pain management ways are usually slow with various procedures. Prescription pain killers only need a person to take a pill and start feeling good and normal within a few minutes. For many people the drugs for pain are the best way forward since it does not need any skill. The pain killers are effective with some working even faster than expected, and for this reason anyone in pain would take the choice as the first option for relieving pain. Sometimes a person gets used to taking the drug every time he feels a little pain and it soon reaches a point where the drug is taken more frequent that prescribed by the doctor (Good, et. al., 2001).
When a person is undergoing physical pain, he will also experience emotional pain and after taking a pain killer he soon realizes that his emotional pain is gone too. This is also another reason why we opt for the drugs instead of other ways (Joranson, et. al., 2002). It is always available without long procedures which may need us to go looking a specialist in for instances acupuncture. The drug we need is available at the nearby pharmacy, so why bother ourselves with what we cannot assess easily. Painkillers also have a tendency of giving pleasure in such a way that when a person in so much pain takes them and the paid stops suddenly, there is a feeling of great relief which comes with some pleasure. Relaxation of body muscles and mind is experience and the patients are sure to go back for the same drug in case of another such occurrence of pain. The patient starts imagining the good feeling she/he will get once she/swallows the tablets and starts using it often just to have the good feeling.
Painkillers also tend relieve a patient from the tension experienced due to pain. When a person goes thought pain, the body becomes tensed and painkillers change that feeling instantly. Nobody wants to be in the condition where the body muscles are tensed with pain in other parts of the body, therefore the first option will again be the drug shelve or the nearest drug store. For some drugs, a patient may take them the first few time and the results will be perfect. After a while with the pain recurring, the drug starts to seem ineffective (Joranson, et. al., 2002). The patient starts to take more than the required dose because he is desperate to reduce the pain, and after a while the drug has very little effect causing the patient to take more and addictions sets in.
There are some pains which do not require pain killers at all, and these are those pains that may have been caused by bad habits like bad posture, sitting habits and others. These are problems which can be solved by changing the postures and sitting styles (Eufemia and Puntillo 1991). Most times we take drugs and overdo it because our pain is worsening or not going away, not knowing that as we take the drugs, we need to change and prevent the causes by practicing good body postures for them to work. Luck of this knowledge will lead us to addiction.
Pain killers play a good role in taking away and our suffering but for how long are we going to depend on it? As much as we all know that when we are sick or feeling pain, we cannot just depend on the feel good medication because we know it is not going to terminate the problem that causes us pain. It is time we drew the line for the pain management and feel good medications and think of better permanent solutions (Tan, Alvarez & Jensen). Taking drugs to ease pain every few hours will definitely cause damage to our health as much as we think it will help. At least ninety percent of the pains experienced by human beings have original causes, and that is why it is not advisable to take pain killers when you feel pain in any part of the body. Painkillers have to be prescribed by specialist because every pain has a specific pain reliever depending on its cause and nature.
Pain management by use of prescribed pills and other forms of drugs will not solve the pains. It is only a way to reduce it and we all know that the pain is expected to come back after a few hours. Therefore it is necessary for us to always think of ways to permanently get rid of these pains. Pains especially those that are caused by diseases can be eliminated through treatment by specialist after thorough check-ups. Once the cause has been established, specific drugs can be prescribed together with pain relievers which should just be used during the treatment (Joranson, et. al., 2002). The pain is not expected to come back after treating its root cause, and this is a really helpful way instead of repeated use of plain pain killers.
For those of us whose tradition is using pain killing drugs when in any pain, it is time to change that habit as it is the most dangerous. Some pain killers can be harmful and even fatal if over used. It starts with two pills, then four, then eight and before you know it you are taking more that forty pills at once. This happens because of addiction and tolerance and it is a stage where a person’s life becomes threatened and death is possible within the time (McCracken, et. al., 2003). We should not wait until it gets to this point because as human beings, have the capability to notice when things start getting bad. Once we observe that, we are required to quite pain-killer habits and think about our lives. Ask ourselves whether we want to keep on living or not, after all most people especially those who have been to see doctors know that other forms of pain reduction exist.
Other forms of pain reduction are available and therefore we have no excuse. These are options which will not harm anybody as most of them are natural, and have nothing to do with drugs. We fear to go for them as options because we know that they will need a little bit more of our efforts unlike the drugs which need nothing much than to just swallow them. Nothing comes easy and we all know how much we want to live a healthy life (Eufemia and Puntillo 1991). We also know how drugs can be harmful to our lives especially if taken without control and doctors advice. The fact that we know about the harm, then it is time for us to change for better. We have to and we must go for the options, after all they are the best.
When I say options I mean the more natural ways of relieving pain where no medications such as drugs are required. These are ways such as (Tan, Alvarez & Jensen);
Therapeutic massage
Chiropractic
Yoga
Tai chi
Acupuncture
There are all natural therapies that are used in order to reduce physical and emotional pain, most of these therapies are known to be very effective as much as some of them might take some time. They work very well and are very healthy (McCracken, et. al., 2003). Some of them can be used by the patient in future even without the aid of the therapist as they mostly consist of exercises such as dances, exercises and other healthy body movements. Some such as Acupuncture are done with use of needles pierced in particular parts of the body, the needles make way of the pain through the skin, while massage on the other hand is known to be the most soothing pain reliever.
The types of pain relievers above are all said to work by generating noise which prevent the pain signals from going to the brain, hence causing the pain to disappear. This is because pain in the body occurs when the brain causes the body to experience the pain and through it, it goes away too. It is therefore necessary for us to stop the habits of pain killer’s addiction and go for the options which are safer, and if the pain is being caused by a disease we are suffering from the best thing to do first should be try treating its cause and the pain will no longer exist. According to recent research, massage therapy has been found to be the most effective way of reducing and terminating pain compared to medical treatment by drugs (Tan, Alvarez & Jensen). The best advice for anyone experiencing pain every now and then would be to go for the natural safe ways and they should be sure to attain unbelievable results.
References
Eufemia, J. and Puntillo, A. K. (1991). A Survey of Nursing Practice in the Assessment and
Management of Pain in Children. New York, NY: Journal of Clinical psychology
Good, M., Stanton-Hicks, M., Grass, J. A., Anderson, G. C., Lai, H.-L. , Roykulcharoen, V. and
Adler, P. A.
(2001), Relaxation and music to reduce postsurgical pain. New York, NY:
Journal of Advanced
Nursing.
Joranson, D. E., Carrow G. M. and Ryan K.M. (2002). Pain Management and Prescription
Monitoring New York, NY: Elsevier
McCracken, M. L., Vowles, E. K. and Eccleston, c. (2003), Acceptance of chronic pain:
component analysis and a revised assessment method. New York, NY: Department of
Psychology.
Tan, G., Alvarez, J. A. and Jensen, M. P. (2006), Complementary and alternative medicine
approaches to
pain management. New York, NY: Journal of Clinical psychology.
