Almost everyone is familar with the pain relief formulas. Over 30
billion over the counter tablets, and 70 million prescriptions are
sold annually just in the USA.
Known as “Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs” (NSAIDs), a few
commonly known names include Aspirin, Ibuprofin, Advil, Motrin as
well as prescription products like Celebrex, Vioxx, Daypro and
more.
Here’s something you might “not” know about common pain relief…
“Conservative calculations estimate that approximately 107,000
patients are hospitalized annually for nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI)
complications and at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur each
year among arthritis patients alone. The figures of all NSAID users
would be overwhelming, yet the scope of this problem is generally
under-appreciated.”
American Journal of Medicine, July 1998
And from the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine…
“It has been estimated conservatively that 16,500 NSAID-related
deaths occur among patients with rheumatoid arthritis or
osteoarthritis every year in the United States. This figure is
similar to the number of deaths from the acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome and considerably greater than the number of deaths from
multiple myeloma, asthma, cervical cancer, or Hodgkin’s disease.
If deaths from gastrointestinal toxic effects from NSAIDs were
tabulated separately in the National Vital Statistics reports,
these effects would constitute the 15th most common cause of death
in the United States. Yet these toxic effects remain mainly a
‘silent epidemic,’ with many physicians and most patients unaware
of the magnitude of the problem.
Furthermore the mortality statistics do not include deaths ascribed
to the use of over-the-counter NSAIDS.”
New England Journal of Medicine
The Food and Drug Administration suggests even higher figures,
estimating NSAID use accounts for 10,000 to 20,000 deaths per year
in the United States alone. In spite of this knowledge, little has
been done to notify the public. There has been no large scale
public alert and pharmaceutical companies still market and promote
worldwide sales of these products.
It is important to note that most people have no warning signs that
these drugs are causing internal damage before they end up in the
hospital in serious condition. As the death toll rises annually,
consumers are slowly learning the toxic effects of these
medications and turning to Mother Earth to seek natural and less
toxic alternatives to find relief from pain.
References;
Singh Gurkirpal, MD, “Recent Considerations in Nonsteroidal
Anti-Inflammatory Drug Gastropathy”, The American Journal of
Medicine, July 27, 1998, p. 31S
Wolfe M. MD, Lichtenstein D. MD, and Singh Gurkirpal, MD,
“Gastrointestinal Toxicity of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory
Drugs”, The New England Journal of Medicine, June 17, 1999, Vol.
340, No. 24, pp. 1888-1889.
Fries James F., “NSAID Gastropathy: The Second Most Deadly
Rheumatic Disease? Epidemiology and Risk Appraisal”, Journal of
Rheumatology, 1991, (Supplement 28), Vol. 18, pp. 6-10
healthsentinel.com & content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/340/24/1888
