Pain Medications
What is Pain[edit | edit source]
A definition of pain, according to the subcommittee on taxonomy of the International Association for the Study of Pain and adapted in 1979, is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. It is usually subjective[1].
What Are Pain Medications[edit | edit source]
A pain medication is defined broadly as any medication that is indicated relieves pain. Many different pain medicines exist and each one has pros and cons. Certain pains respond better to some medicines than others. People also have a slightly different response to a pain reliever.[2]
The main forms of medication are:
• Over-the-counter medicines. Good for mild to moderate pain, commonly prescribed for arthritis and musculoskeletal pain– nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), paracetamol, codeine.
• Opioids. These drugs are often prescribed for acute pain that arises from traumatic injury, such as surgery , neuropathic pain – codeine, morphine, tramadol;
• Anti-epileptic drugs. These are often used for chronic pain eg neuropathic pain – pregabalin, gaberpentin, carbamazepine;
• Anti-depressants. Used for chronic pain eg fibromyalgia– amitriptyline, duloxetine[3] The video clip below gives a good description of pain medication steps using the WHO analgesic ladder
- ↑ Merskey, H., 1991. The definition of pain. European psychiatry.
- ↑ Medline Plus. Pain relievers. Available from: https://medlineplus.gov/painrelievers.html (last accessed 7.4.2019)
- ↑ Australian Pain management association. Medication. Available from: https://www.painmanagement.org.au/2014-09-11-13-35-53/2014-09-13-02-37-18.html (last accessed 7.4.2019)
- ↑ Dr John Campbell. Pain 11 Analgesia. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCowQo74CaM&app=desktop (last accessed 8.4.2019)
