JustCare

Tag: Ibuprofen

  • The many ways to ease knee and hip pain

    The many ways to ease knee and hip pain

    If you’re suffering from pain or stiffness in your knees and hips and you’re over 65, you’re not alone. According to Consumer Reports, three in four people over 65 have joint pain. Fortunately, there are many ways to ease this pain.

    Osteoarthritis is the common cause of joint pain in older age. People lose the cartilage that cushions their bones, leading their bones to rub together. The pain is often most pronounced first thing in the morning and when rising from a seated position.

    Many people take ibuprofen–Advil, Motrin or some other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug–to ease their pain. Or, they take acetaminophen. These drugs can all help relieve pain, but you should avoid taking them all the time. They come with some risks.

    Similarly, you can take steroid injections or hyaluronic acid injections for mild or moderate pain, but you don’t want to take more than a couple of them. (N.B. Some people do platelet-rich plasma treatment, but there’s not a lot of evidence that it is effective.)

    You can also sometimes ease pain through a variety of different physical activity. People who move around produce synovial fluid, which helps cushion the bones. The problem with physical activity is that it can hurt, so people resist it.

    One way to go if walking hurts is to do a work-out at the pool or to use a stationary bike that allows you to lean back. Leaning back while biking relieves pressure on your knees. Tai chi is yet another way to go to get your synovial fluid flowing.

    For people with serious pain, physical therapy can help increase flexibility and strengthen joint muscles. Strengthening these muscles tends to ease pain. Medicare often covers physical therapy. You can also try changing your diet to eat more plant-based foods.

    There’s some evidence that eating more beans, nuts, fruits and vegetables can reduce pain from osteoarthritis because it reduces inflammation. Salmon and other fatty fish can also help, as can foods with vitamin K, such as kale and spinach.

    If you’re overweight, you might be able to ease joint pain by losing five or ten pounds. Each pound you lose lowers pressure on your knees and hips by five to six pounds.

    You should also try to get a good night’s sleep and ease any stress. If you’re not sleeping enough, you are more likely to feel your joint pain. When you’re stressed out, you produce more inflammation-causing hormones that adds to your pain. Try to take deep breaths for a few minutes to relieve tension.

    If diet, exercise, physical therapy and over-the-counter medicines are not able to ease your pain, you should talk to your doctor about the value of a hip or knee replacement. An orthopedic surgeon can help you understand the benefits and risks. These are quite common effective procedures–even for people in their 80’s–that can last a long time. But, they involve surgery, from which it could take you a while to recover.

    Consumer Report warns that if you do decide to have a hip or knee replacement, you are best off using a surgeon who has done hundreds of these procedures and going to a hospital that does thousands of these procedures each year.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Advil v. Tylenol: Which to take and when?

    Advil v. Tylenol: Which to take and when?

    When you’re feeling aches and pains or have a cold or the flu, should you take acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil.)  And, how much is too much?

    When do people take Advil? People pop Advil for just about any ache or pain. Advil treats inflammatory diseases, rheumatoid disorders, osteoarthritis, and more. It is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), which has ibuprofen as its active ingredient.

    What’s the right amount of Advil to take? If you read the manufacturer’s information, you should not be taking more than six 200mg pills a day, one every four hours. But, a lot of people take two or three Advils at once. And, some experts say that you can take up to 12 pills a day, four pills three times a day.

    How quickly will Advil begin working? Advil should take no more than an hour and as little as 30 minutes to take effect.

    What are the risks of taking too much Advil? Advil can harm your gastrointestinal tract, so always try to take it with food, if only a light snack. If you take too much, you can hurt your stomach lining and cause ulcers and GI tract bleeding. According to the FDA, use of NSAIDs, such as Advil (Ibuprofen) and Aleve (Naproxen), increase your risk of stroke and heart attack. As a result, the FDA now requires drug labels for all prescription NSAIDs to warn people of this risk. Over-the-counter non-aspirin NSAIDs also must contain this information.

    When do people take Tylenol? People take Tylenol (Acetaminophen) for headaches and pains, as well as to treat a fever.

    What’s the right amount of Tylenol to take? According to the NIH, you generally have no side-effect risks, so long as you do not exceed the maximum dosage for the drug, 4,000 mg a day.

    What are Tylenol’s side effects? Tylenol’s most common side effect is nausea. It’s unsafe to take Tylenol if you’re on a blood-thinning drug, warfarin or  Coumadin. You should limit your alcohol intake to one or two drinks max when you are taking Tylenol.

    Should you take Advil or Tylenol every day? Do not take Advil or Tylenol every day, unless your physician advises it.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • Avoid opioids to treat dental pain

    Avoid opioids to treat dental pain

    Teresa Carr writes for Consumer Reports on the best drugs to treat dental pain. Hint: Avoid opioids. Percocet, Oxycontin, Codeine, and Vicodin are highly addictive and, for the most part, not as good at relieving pain as over-the-counter medicines. Advil and Motrin (ibuprofen) and Aleve (naproxen) are often more effective and come with fewer side effects.

    People continue to die of opioid overdoses. In fact, last year, 31 percent more people died of an opioid overdose than in 2019. The Sackler family just settled a major lawsuit against Purdue for its responsibility in fueling the opioid crisis, essentially promoting opioids as safe pain relief when over-the-counter medicines would be as effective and non-addictive.

    Back in July, several state attorneys general settled a lawsuit against a series of companies that distribute prescription drugs, including McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen. Johnson & Johnson was also a defendant. They had been charged with significant responsibility for the opioid epidemic in the US. Interestingly, the health insurers, who claim to “manage” people’s care, got off easy, even though the buck stopped with them–they could have denied coverage for opioids except in the most limited of circumstances, as insurers in Germany did.

    Many people do not realize that dentists have been one of the biggest prescribers of opioids. They have also been far more responsible for opioid overdoses–two and a half times more responsible–than other prescribers of opioids, according to one recent analysis published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. (N.B. Keep in mind that sometimes dentists perform costly dental procedures that you might not need. Dental fraud is more common than you might think. So, try to get a second opinion before getting dental surgery.)

    The researchers found that dentists prescribed an opioid to more than one in four people, including teenagers, who received dental surgeries between 2011 and 2018. Millions of people who visited the dentist ended up filling opioid prescriptions. And, nearly six in 10,000 overdosed. The researchers posited that we would see 1,700 fewer opioid overdoses each year if dentists stopped prescribing opioids.

    People with Medicare often do not get to see a dentist because Medicare does not cover dental care and the costs can be prohibitive. But, Congress is working on legislation that is likely to add a dental benefit to Medicare. It should make it easier for older people and people with disabilities to see a dentist.

    When you go to the dentist, keep in mind that there’s generally no need for you to take opioids to relieve dental pain. Over-the-counter medicines are safer and as or more effective than opioids for the majority of people. Drugs like Advil and Aleve are able to keep your gums from swelling. And, Tylenol keeps you from feeling pain.

    Side effects from over-the-counter drugs are also fewer and milder than side effects from opioids. In addition to being addictive, opioids can cause drowsiness, constipation and nausea.

    Talk to your doctor about the drugs you need to relieve any pain you might have from dental care. Remember that even over-the-counter medicines should not be taken in excess. And, if an opioid is warranted because of the intensity of the pain from your dental procedure, make sure to limit your use to what’s needed. Generally, you should be over the harsh pain in two or three days and can then switch to Advil or Tylenol if you still need some pain relief.

    Here’s more from Just Care:

  • How to soothe a sore throat

    How to soothe a sore throat

    It is that time of year when many of us find ourselves with a sore throat. And, most of us are looking for some way to ease the symptoms, if not cure the sore throat altogether, ideally, without antibiotics. Here’s how to soothe a sore throat.

    Britain’s National Health Service recommends taking ibuprofen, along with lots of cool or warm drinks and cool soft foods, and avoiding hot drinks. Tylenol can also help ease the pain. Even if your sore throat makes it difficult to drink, it is really important to keep up your fluid intake! Your throat pain will get worse if you let yourself, and the lining of your throat, get dry.  

    The National Health Service further recommends homemade gargling with a mouthwash of salty water and sucking on lozenges and hard candy. Lozenges containing menthol may be helpful. Honey is also good. Put some in your tea! The honey helps to soothe the throat as you swallow. You will want to avoid acidic food and drinks, and spicy dishes; they may be irritating. Also, you should not smoke.

    Harvard Health recommends getting plenty of rest, drinking a lot of water, and using a cool mist vaporizer.

    When do you need antibiotics for a sore throat? Cochrane, an independent network of researches that uses high-quality information to help you make health decisions, advises that antibiotics are of limited use in treating sore throats. They have unpleasant adverse side effects such as diarrhea and rashes.

    Cochrane further reports that some Chinese herbal medicines appear to be effective in curing a sore throat. But, it cannot recommend any specific medicines because no trials of these medicines were designed well enough to provide compelling evidence.

    Do not waste your time or money on probiotics or special xylitol-based chewing gum for your sore throat. They are not effective, according to a new report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

    Here’s more from Just Care: