Over-the-Counter Medications

Over-the-counter medications, drugs you can buy without a prescription, are often helpful in keeping people comfortable if they have pain. Although some diseases, like cancer, can cause severe pain at the end-of-life, pain that requires much stronger pain medications, those who are receiving palliative care for illnesses as heart disease may have pain that is manageable with OTC medications.

OTC medications are real drugs 

It can happen that some people don't consider OTC medications to be real medications and they might not take them as seriously as prescription medications. They may end up taking too many OTC medications or take them too often. Their reasoning is that if it's available without a prescription, it must be harmless. This is not true. OTC medications can - and have - caused deaths from overdoses or over-usage. 

OTC medications can be very effective for pain relief and, most often, have fewer side effects than prescription medications. 

What types of OTC medications are for pain? 

OTC pain medications come in three main groups: ASA (acetylsalicylic acid), ibuprofen, and acetaminophen. ASA and ibuprofen are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) that relieve pain by reducing swelling and inflammation. Acetaminophen is not an NSAID but it does relieve pain much like ASA and ibuprofen; researchers don't understand why or how but one theory is that it raises the body's pain threshold or ability to tolerate pain. 

What brand names do these drugs come in? 

• In North America, ASA is better known as Aspirin®, but is also found in other brand names, such as: 

Bufferin®                                     Excedrin® (also contains acetaminophen and caffeine) 

Entrophen®                                 Easprin® 

Ecotrin®                                      

 

• Ibuprofen: 

Advil®                                         Genpril® 

Haltrane®                                   IBU® 

Menadol®                                   Midol® 

Motrin®

• Acetaminophen: 

Acephen®                                           Anacin® 

Excedrin®  (also contains ASA and caffeine) 

FeverAll®                                            Gelpirin®

Genapap®                                          Genebs®

Goody's®                                            Liquiprin®

Roxicet®                                             Supac®

Tylenol®                                             Vanquish®

Wygesic®

Which type of OTC pain killer should I take? 

Certain types of pain are relieved better with particular pain relievers. For example, if you have rheumatoid arthritis, with swelling in the joints, NSAIDs are often effective because they reduce the inflammation. You should speak with your doctor about what types of pain medications you should be taking. 

What are the side effects of OTC medications? 

A major side effect with NSAIDs and ASA is that they can cause bleeding in the stomach. They can also affect the way your blood clots, causing it to take longer for bleeding to stop. 

Overdoses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen can cause liver damage. 

ASA should not be given to children who have a virus that causes influenza or chicken pox. ASA can cause a rare fatal disorder called Reyes syndrome. 

References: 

Tylenol.com 

HospiceNet.org 

MedLinePlus