Hyderabad, Nov. 24: 

A young techie in Hyderabad came home the other day with terrible back pain. instead of going to the hospital, he asked his roommate to get him a pain killer. His friend rushed to the nearest pharmacy and bought a painkiller over the counter (OTC).

Moments after taking the pill, the techie developed symptoms of vomiting and loose bowels and died hours later. a journalist too succumbed to pain killer-induced side-effects recently.

We all know that pain killers sell like potato chips over the counter and that most pharmacists double as doctors in India.

Though we read reports of such events in local pages of newspapers, we hardly care to go a bit deeper to understand the problem.

The takeaway from this episode is — do not substitute your pharmacist for a doctor and do not take a pain killer without doctor’s advice.

Side effects could range from skin rashes to ulcerisation. for people who already have ulcers, liver, cardiac and kidney problems, even one pain killer can cause serious risks. Some even cause death if not attended to in time, Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy, Chairman and Chief of Gastroenterology at Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, told Business Line.

General pain killers or Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) should be taken along with proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) to check acidity. “But those who are using OTC pain killers do not take these anti-acidic agents, exposing themselves to risks,” he says.

AIG receives 15-20 patients with extreme cases of bleeding associated with pain killers every month.

Dr M. Govardhan, Senior physician at CARE Hospitals, feels that indiscriminate use of pain killers could have both short-term and long term impacts.

“All drugs will have some side effects. But a doctor gives you protection. it is the responsibility of a patient to check whether a particular drug causes any side effects. If their condition weakens after medication, they should immediately call the doctor without waiting for next scheduled appointment,” he cautions.

Dr Govardhan points out that pain could be treated as a signal for an underlying problem that needs to be addressed first to get rid of the pain.

Those under medication for some other problem such as high blood pressure should be more wary because pain killers could lead to drug-drug interaction and could pose serious health risks.

My dog was exposed to kennel cough. I took him to the vet and he has been on meds. for 7 days. still not eating or playing the way he did. I am concerned.

I would give it another week and if he is still coughing go back to the vet. he may need a stronger antibiotic. the reason I say this is that I had a pup that contracted a nasty form of kennel cough that did not respond to the first four antibiotics we gave her. she didn't want to eat much or play. the vet. put her on the second strongest antibiotic (erythomyacin-excuse spelling) on the list in fact I had to get it at the pharmacy because vets' don't keep it on hand. she started to get a little better but it still took two rounds of the antibiotic to get her well. I know there was some lung damage because she will cough a little in the winter months but is fine in the summer. one round of meds. may not be enough.

We have a labrador and she has had kennel cough twice, about a year apart each time.

She was sick for about 2 weeks from start to finish so give it until that sort of time frame before you start to worry. As long as he is on the medication he will come good again.

While he is sick don't let him exhaust himself so keep him quiet and well rested. When he is starting to feel better he will run around again on his own. then you know he's on the mend.

I have had fatigue, constant neck pain and headaches, blurred vision, and overall have just felt so horrible almost every day that I can barely get through the day. I have had fleeting chest pains the past couple of days. The other symptoms have been going on for several months. I did an internet search and the only thing that seemed to match is high blood pressure. I haven't had it checked lately because I don't have insurance and have not been to the doctor. I also have type 1 diabetes. (I am 26)

well i have a feeling that it isn't high blood preasure not that your bp wouldn't be high at this time though. you know you can always go to your local drug store and most have an automatic blood preasure cuff near the pharmacy so you can check it for free that way.

i think you may have hyperthyroidism.
check out these symptoms.
if you think this could be it you really need to have it checked with blood work.
webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hyper…