Wednesday, January 5, 2005

Medicine: painkiller fears getting out of control

From a BBC News article:

The risk of intestinal damage from common painkillers such as ibuprofen and aspirin may be higher than thought, research suggests.

Doctors found small intestine damage in more than 70% of patients who took non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug painkillers for more than three months.

Previously it was thought the risk of gut problems was low.
By whom??? Since when have we thought that there wasn't a real and significant chance of GI bleeding from NSAIDS? But I guess some half-assed science writer has to make his paycheck this week. Yes, last week they tried to crucify Naproxen w/ their shit headlines. Now Ibuprofen. I have a great idea. Let's give everybody morphine, or better yet, let them suffer and writhe in pain. Or just shoot people in the head when they get a migraine.

It's great to understand risks and all, and in this particular case, if it gets a patient to ask a haphazard doc for a proton pump inhibitor script, that's a step forward. But geez. Pretty soon, whiskey stocks will start rising, as it'll be the only painkiller left approved by the FDA.

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