Last updated on July 26th, 2024 at 03:52 pm
It seems easy to swallow a pill and end that headache, isn’t it? Releasing pain out of your body in no time and getting back to work seems like an easy task. We do it often, swearing each time while having the painkiller, not to take it again. But we do and take that again. We don’t realise that this can make us habitual of the painkillers too. Ignoring your pain triggering symptoms may cause some bigger problems in the future. Whether it is an ache anywhere in the body or some sudden injury, mostly we prefer taking painkillers. For a while, it is not hazardous but repeating the intakes regularly can seriously be harmful for your health.
How Painkillers Function?
The beauty of the painkillers is that they stop your pain in less time so that you can go ahead with your routine. Suppose you have a headache, what will you do? You dissolve two tablets of Disprin in a glass of water and gulp it. Pain goes. Do you know why? The reason behind why we feel pain is that our body communicates in that way with our brain.
Whenever pain occurs, our Central Nervous System transmits signals to tranquillising receptors in the brain. These signals help us to feel the discomfort.
The painkiller does two things after its intake, first it slows down the central nervous system to create difficulty for the pain signals to reach out to our brain. Secondly, it attaches to the tranquillising receptors to block it from sending pain signals. You feel relaxed, refreshed and also free from any other pain that was there in the body. Taking painkillers frequently can lead to addiction.
Long-Term Side Effects Of Painkillers
As explained earlier, painkillers affect your central nervous system and tampers your body’s natural ability to fight pain. It lowers down the functioning of your brain and causes effects like slurred speech, slower body actions, shortening of breath and acute damages to organs like livers and kidney.
Effects Of Long Term use Of Painkillers in Various Organs Of Our Body
Heart – Injecting painkillers directly to the body for quick relief can cause cardiovascular issues and heart attacks.
Liver – Our liver stores the toxins from these drugs and that can cause serious damages to it.
Kidney – Sometimes the toxins get accumulated in the kidney and cause inflammation.
Stomach – Painkillers can cause bloating, constipations and other abdominal problems.
What To Do If You Are Addicted?
It is never too late to get rid of an unhealthy habit. You can also remove painkillers from your health dictionary. Just a little determination and effort is demanded here.
First of all notice the pattern when your pain is triggered. If it is generated by certain activities like sports or lifting heavy weights or something else then you must start working on your stamina. Exercise, take a healthy diet and consult a doctor.
If your pain is present in your body for a long time and painkillers relieve that for a couple of days then without any delay consult the specialist of your area of pain. In this case, it might be an internal or childhood injury that has woken up.
Also, if you are spending too much time working or surfing online then headache and cervical pain is common. Correct your sitting posture, add some filtering screen to your device and try to reduce the time spent with screen. Also, you can visit an ophthalmologist because your eyesight is weak and this is also one of the major reasons for headaches.
