Did you know that almost 50,000 people in the United States alone died from the abuse of painkillers in 2019 and rose to 93,000 in 2020? On top of that, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that the misuse of opioids inflicts an economic cost on the United States of almost $80 billion every year!

Unfortunately, not using painkillers means dealing with pain in other ways. Fortunately, the alternatives to dealing with pain can actually be better. In fact, some ways of dealing with pain are both more effective and less dangerous.

But what exactly are the problems with painkillers? Read on to learn all about the most common side effects that painkillers can cause!

The Harmful Effects of Painkillers

Painkiller side effects are more common than many people realize. Even the extremely common painkillers that we think of as mild can cause significant health conditions. For example, simple aspirin can cause serious stomach problems. Not only can it cause ulcers, but it can also cause damage to your kidneys. On top of that, aspirin thins out your blood. Although this can be good if you are worried about a heart attack, it also means that you bleed more when you are wounded.

Similarly, acetaminophen is an extremely common painkiller with surprisingly bad side effects. Taking too much acetaminophen can cause liver damage. The same thing can happen if you take even a little bit of acetaminophen in combination with alcohol.

Like these other painkillers, ibuprofen and naproxen can both cause similar problems with the stomach or kidneys.

Other Disadvantages of Using Painkillers

Of course, there are much more intense painkillers out there. When people think about the negative side effects of painkillers, they are often thinking about prescription medicines.

Opioids are powerful painkillers that are also highly addictive and are the main cause of death by abusive painkillers.

Other common prescription painkillers include codeine, morphine, hydrocodone, and others.

Even if you do not abuse is painkillers, they can cause constipation and other problems. You should not be surprised if you struggle with nausea, sleepiness, depression, slowed breathing, death. This is true no matter what your painkiller dosage is.

Alternatives to Different Types of Painkillers

Many people turn to painkillers when they have arthritis in their joints or neck, back, and other joint pain which can be debilitating. However, there are ways to treat these problems without having to use chemical painkillers.

Chiropractic options can help take can heal your joint pain instead of masking it. Often, you can get superior pain relief as well as improved mobility. On top of that, chiropractic services do not cause health conditions linked with painkillers such as organ damage or addiction.

Avoid All of the Negative Side Effects of Painkillers

We hope that you were able to take away something useful from this brief article on painkillers and some of the most common side effects that they can cause. Although painkillers might be the easiest way to temporarily relieve the pain, that does not mean that they are the best.

To learn more about pain relief and how to manage your joint pain without painkillers, contact us today!