I thought the FDA hit the nail on the head when, at the end of last year, they finally told us that all anti-inflammatory drugs may kill you. Vioxx alone killed 60,000 people; other NSAIDs combined have killed far more than that, as they conservatively kill at least 8,000 people every year in the United States alone.

This is not surprising considering the very reason why they work: prostaglandin inhibition. When I started medical school, science had not yet figured out exactly how aspirin works. Now we know that they interfere with very powerful and important systems in your body.

While they can reduce the mediators of inflammation, they can also distort other important systems in your body. In the case of Vioxx, it decreased beneficial prostaglandins that actually protected against heart disease.

The important take-home principle is that it is OK to use medications if they are absolutely necessary, but it is important to understand that these little expensive pills are not harmless. They are typically very powerful agents that can have a profound influence on your body.

It is quite common for the negative influences or side effects to cause far more damage than the benefits they provide.

So if you resort to using drugs, it is vital that you limit their use to the shortest duration possible and commit to finding the underlying cause of the problem.

Remember, pain can be your ally and gives you a giant clue that something is seriously wrong that you need to address.

Related Articles:

Seven Ways to Protect Your Heart With Anti-Inflammatory Alternatives

Harsher Warnings for NSAIDS

Do the Infamous Black-Box Warning on Drugs Really Protect You?