Five reasons why you should stop taking too many painkillers!

New Delhi: If you are the type who pops in painkillers without wasting thoughts over your action, then it is time to be alert. Taking in too many painkillers have side-effects which can, in fact, turn life-threatening.

Here is how the long-term use of painkillers damages your body.

1. Can increase incidence of common cold and flu: A study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B showed that use of painkillers for a relief of body pain and fever in flu is likely to worsen the condition for everybody else. The study, with the help of a mathematical model, proposed that painkillers might instead be increasing transmission of flu by up to 5 percent.  

2. Worsens headache: According to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) consumption of painkillers like paracetamol, aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen for relieving pain (for more than 15 days in a month) can be equalled to the victims of drugs overuse. This drug overuse can result in more severe headache as time passes.

3. Causes kidney damage: Every drug released in the blood stream passes through filtering in kidney, and can either interfere with the flow of blood to the kidneys, can cause an allergic reaction or can even cause direct injury to the kidney nephrons. A study poits out that the use of over-the-counter or prescription medications can ead to about 20 percent of cases of acute kidney failure.

4. A study conducted in a US hospital showed that Ibuprofen can increase the risk of early death in patients who have survived a heart attack and the chances are as high as almost 59 percent more likely to die of subsequent heart attack or stroke than participants who did not take them.

5. Leads to depression: Researchers have found that pain killers like opioid analgesics over a prolonged period create a risk of depression. Study showed that the use of opioids for more than 80 days resulted in 53 percent higher risk of triggering a new phase of depression.

So, it is high time that one stops using indiscriminate use of pain killers if one's end goal is to remain healthy and happy.