The painless truth about NSAIDs

Medical experts agree that for most people, there’s no harm in taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pain relievers or NSAIDs for the occasional headache, fever, or muscle ache. Indeed, on any given day, millions of Filipinos use NSAIDs to soothe their daily discomforts. But these useful pain relievers also raise the risk of ulcers and heart problems in some people. Should you take an NSAID every day if you have arthritis or chronic pain? Consider the following when making your decision:

• NSAIDs are a common class of over-the-counter and prescription painkillers. You should never take any over-the-counter medicine regularly without discussing it with your doctor. Most over-the-counter painkillers should not be used for more than 10 days.

• Like any medicine, over-the-counter and prescription NSAIDs have side effects. In the United States, for example, all over-the-counter and prescription NSAIDs — except aspirin — are now required to include warnings about possible risks of gastrointestinal and cardiovascular side effects and allergic reactions.

• NSAIDs are not alike. They can have very different pros and cons. Talk to your doctor about the NSAID that might work best for you.

• For some people, complete pain relief isn’t possible. But in such cases, you can focus on reducing your pain so that it doesn’t interfere with your life. Just like any drug on the local market, all NSAIDs pass through testing to determine their efficacy and safety. One NSAID that recently passed the tests with convincing results is aceclofenac, which is imported from Korea by Filipino company OnePharma and now sold under the name Clanza.

Aceclofenac was discovered in 1983 in Spain and since then, has treated more than 75 million patients in at least 60 countries. In the Philippines, Dr. Julius A. Lecciones, a pediatric oncologist and director of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, conducted an extensive study for the Bureau of Food and Drugs on the efficacy and safety of aceclofenac or Clanza. He said Clanza proved to be remarkably effective in relieving pain and inflammation in majority of the 3,153 Filipino patients who underwent treatment with the drug from seven to 30 days. Lecciones noted that the most significant findings they had was the very low number of patients (0.44 percent) who reported gastric irritation after using Clanza. The number, he pointed out, was negligible compared to other NSAIDs. He ruled that the pain-relieving effect of Clanza was equal or even better than most drugs being prescribed in the country at present and its adverse effects on the stomach were seven times lesser than other drugs.