Pain Relief !

Most households in Australia  are likely to to have Panadol in their medicine cabinet because it is a well advertised form of pain relief and there is a common belief that is effective against pain anywhere in the human body.

Its active ingredient is Paracetamol and University of Sydney researchers have just completed a study of pain relief which revealed that this particular drug is only effective in four of the forty-four pain conditions for which we seek relief.

The outcome of their research shows this is an effective form of pain relief for hip and knee  osteoarthritis, craniotomy, tension headache and perineal pain after childbirth,   What is alarming is that this medication is believed to treat - and is used for relief of migraine, post operative pain, dental procedures, childhood middle ear infections, back pain, abdominal pain and common cold related headaches.

It is probably the most widely used pain relief drug in Australia and this has been increased since legislation was introduced in 2018 to reschedule codeine medication to require a doctor's prescription.  Before that many addictive pain killing drugs were available over the counter and drug addiction was becoming widespread.

This prescription requirement has seen paracetamol based drugs capture 60.1 percent of market share, which is a seventy-five percent increase on their use before the prescription requirement came into affect. It is supplying a placebo relief for many forms of pain relief because it is firmly fixed in people's minds that this type of medication gives universal pain relief.

This research finding is not entirely new.  An article comparing relief of back pain by Paracetamol appeared in the Lancet in 2014 and was roundly refuted by vested interests.  The drug trade is a big and profitable industry and it advertises extensively to promote its products.  This notion that Paracetamol is a pain reduction product in all circumstances will be difficult to remove from people's minds.

Sadly, a lot of people are not getting the pain relief they are hoping for and are wasting money on a product unsuited to their need.  They would be wise to discuss the type of pain they are suffering with their doctor and get professional guidance on the type of product that will give relief.

In areas where access to a registered general practitioner is difficult and delayed, the local chemist is able to advise on the most suitable medication type to treat the type of pain described.  The pharmaceutical trade has diverged into a wide variety of specialist products and the days of depending on a popular cure all are over.

The big problem is getting people to look beyond the claims made in advertising commercials that popular remedies cure all problems.