I am genuinely shocked by the number of people on medication that do not understand what they are taking and the risk of interacting with other medications. NSAIDS are a very common medication and they frequently are listed as medications not to take with certain drugs.
A NSAID is often used as an antiflammatory, pain, and fever medication. One of the most common is Ibuprofen also known as motrin. NSAIDS work by blocking the production of certain chemicals in the body that cause pain, and inflammation. This makes it a popular medication for a person with arthritis, back or joint pain, and fever.
NSAIDS increase bleeding time so if you are on a blood thinner like coumadin you would not want to take NSAID’s.
Sometimes it is not a drug but a complication what should not be treated with NSAIDS. If your child or teenager contracts chickenpox you would never use asprin because of the risk of Reyes Syndrome. As a rule I never give asprin to my children.
If you have problems with hypertension you need to know that some nonsteroid anti inflammatorys could cause an increase in your bloodpressure. If you have kidney problems you should avoid NSAIDS because a complication is kidney failure.
Asthmatics are people who are often at risk when using NSAIDS. The reason is when one has an allergic reaction to an NSAID the side effect is normally shortness of breath. So to add shortness of breath to someone who may already be compromised is not a good idea. In most cases if you are allergic to one NSAID you are more than likely allergic to others. So if I was allergic to Ibuprofen I could anticipate being allergic to Aleve.
Common NSAIDS:
Ibuprofen/Motrin
Piroxican/Feldene
Celecoxib/Celebrex
Oxaprozin/Daypro
Naproxen/Aleve/Naprosyn
Etodolac/Lodine
Asprin or ASA
These are just a few of the common types of NSAIDS but there more. One of the worst case scenarios is kidney failure, ulcers, or liver failure. This causes a problem because with kidney failure you have a decrease in urine output, so you would also decrease the effects of diuretics.
You might start seeing edema or swelling in the ankles. Your kidneys and liver also flush your body. Just suppose you are on a medication like Lithium and you went into kidney failure. Your body would not be able to diurese the medication fast enough to keep an unsafe buildup out of your system. You could very easy become Lithium toxic.
As a rule it is a good idea to keep a list of all the medications you take both over and under the counter. Take the list to your doctor visits so they can screen for interactions. You can also call your local pharmacist to ask about drug interactions. I recommend using only one pharmacy so they can see what prescriptions you are having filled.
Reference:
- PDR Nurses Drug Book
