6 ms·

> For aches and pains, take an aspirin. I'm not sure if that's a good advice. AFAIK, in the USA this seems to be common practice but in Germany people are mor

> For aches and pains, take an aspirin. I'm not sure if that's a good advice. AFAIK, in the USA this seems to be common practice but in Germany people are more reluctant to take painkillers, for good reasons: You will be more careful when using the respective body part.

thenoblesunfish 5y ago
In the long term, exercise (including very light things like stretching, easy yoga, etc.) is probably the more robust solution to aches and pains (excluding severe or chronic things that you would go to a doctor for). Plus, good for depression which obviously is a big reason to feel like shit.
eCa 5y ago
That’s how far I got in my click-through. When the first response to ’something is aching’ is ’take a pill’, I don’t take the source seriously.
sva_ 5y ago
> If you feel anxious, take your Xanax. /s
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
zufallsheld 5y ago
Depends on what's hurt. If you got tense muscles, aspirin helps. It will make you not feel the pain, then the muscles relax and the tension goes away.
vultour 5y ago
None of the people I know even take aspirin as a painkiller. Blood thinners seem like a strange first choice.
- coldtea 5y ago
  Perhaps the people you know is the outlier group? Aspirin is one of the most common painkillers in use globally. Wikipedia: "Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid, is a medication used to reduce pain, fever, or inflammation"
  - geewee 5y ago
    Aspirin is extremely hard to get in Denmark for example, as it's seen as inferior to Paracetamol
    - hnra 5y ago
      Is Treo not sold in Denmark? It's very popular in Sweden, but I'm guessing not as popular as ibuprofen or paracetamol.
      - Quekid5 5y ago
        Correct, it is. (OTC) Not sure what the other poster means by 'extremely hard to get'. Ask for it at the counter at any pharmacy and there you go. Maybe they're referring to it not being available at the counter in supermarkets? (Whereas paracetamol is.)
        geewee 5y ago
        Yes that is what I was referring to, and anecdotally I haven't seen anyone actually have a Treo in their home for.. well years.
        Quekid5 5y ago
        Fair enough. I'm in the unfortunate situation that Acetylsalicylsalicylic acid (wow, that's a mouthful!) is the only thing that really work for my headaches... so I might be counter-biased wrt. your experience. It's just that I perhaps seek it out by default and it's not difficult to obtain from that perspective. (Though you always have to listen to the lecture...)
csomar 5y ago
Yeah, I stopped right there. If we are going down that road, might as well take something stronger and get your brain foggy enough to be not in pain any more. Sure it works, just see the homeless people.
watwut 5y ago
More importantly, aspirin does not kill pain. Like, it does not work for that purpose at all.
- coldtea 5y ago
  Says who? "Aspirin is an everyday painkiller for aches and pains such as headache, toothache and period pain. It can also be used to treat colds and flu-like symptoms, and to bring down a high temperature." (NHS) "Aspirin works by blocking the production of prostaglandins, the on-off switch in cells that regulate pain and inflammation, among other things. That’s why aspirin stops mild inflammation and pain." (Washington University)
  - watwut 5y ago
    Have you ever tried it? It literally does nothing. It is placebo at best.
    - coldtea 5y ago
      >Have you ever tried it? Yes. >It literally does nothing. It is placebo at best. Says who? Not science. Significant benefit of aspirin over placebo was shown for aspirin 600/650 mg, 1000 mg and 1200 mg, with numbers-needed-to-treat for at least 50% pain relief of 4.4 (4.0-4.9), 4.0 (3.2-5.4) and 2.4 (1.9-3.2) respectively. (...) Reviewer's conclusions: Aspirin is an effective analgesic for acute pain of moderate to severe intensity with a clear dose-response. Drowsiness and gastric irritation were seen as significant adverse effects even though the studies were single-dose. The pain relief achieved with aspirin was very similar milligram for milligram to that seen with paracetamol. Other study: Results: The results of the dental pain study for aspirin and acetaminophen with codeine suggest statistically significant efficacy for all measures compared with placebo at all time points. Aspirin provided statistically significant efficacy compared with acetaminophen with codeine for SPID(0-4) (P = 0.028). In the tension-type headache study, aspirin and acetaminophen with codeine provided statistically significant efficacy compared with placebo for SPID(0-4) and SPID(0-6) (P < 0.001) and for total pain relief (P < 0.001). (...) Conclusions: These 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies demonstrate that treatment with aspirin (1000 mg) provides statistically significant analgesic efficacy compared with placebo use and comparable efficacy with acetaminophen (300 mg) with codeine (30 mg) therapy after impacted third molar extraction and in tension- type headache. And so on. There are lots of studies for its use as a painkiller. And the above don't even touch arthritis and pain from inflammation, where it excels...
wccrawford 5y ago
As an American, I'm frequently told by people around me to take painkillers or other medicines if I even mention that I have something wrong with me, no matter how little. When I object and refuse, they attempt to pressure me into it. I wish I could teach them that not everything needs to be medicated, and letting your body do its job, even if there's some discomfort or pain involved, is fine. I prefer not to mess with my body chemistry unless it's a serious situation.
cromulent 5y ago
FWIW, Dr Karl, the Australian medical doctor / science communicator, often advocates early use of painkillers to avoid neural plasticity problems that lead to more pain as the pain related neural pathways are reinforced.

thenoblesunfish 5y ago

In the long term, exercise (including very light things like stretching, easy yoga, etc.) is probably the more robust solution to aches and pains (excluding severe or chronic things that you would go to a doctor for). Plus, good for depression which obviously is a big reason to feel like shit.

eCa 5y ago

That’s how far I got in my click-through. When the first response to ’something is aching’ is ’take a pill’, I don’t take the source seriously.

sva_ 5y ago

> If you feel anxious, take your Xanax. /s

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

zufallsheld 5y ago

Depends on what's hurt. If you got tense muscles, aspirin helps. It will make you not feel the pain, then the muscles relax and the tension goes away.

vultour 5y ago

None of the people I know even take aspirin as a painkiller. Blood thinners seem like a strange first choice.

coldtea 5y ago
Perhaps the people you know is the outlier group? Aspirin is one of the most common painkillers in use globally. Wikipedia: "Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid, is a medication used to reduce pain, fever, or inflammation"
- geewee 5y ago
  Aspirin is extremely hard to get in Denmark for example, as it's seen as inferior to Paracetamol
  - hnra 5y ago
    Is Treo not sold in Denmark? It's very popular in Sweden, but I'm guessing not as popular as ibuprofen or paracetamol.
    - Quekid5 5y ago
      Correct, it is. (OTC) Not sure what the other poster means by 'extremely hard to get'. Ask for it at the counter at any pharmacy and there you go. Maybe they're referring to it not being available at the counter in supermarkets? (Whereas paracetamol is.)
      - geewee 5y ago
        Yes that is what I was referring to, and anecdotally I haven't seen anyone actually have a Treo in their home for.. well years.
        Quekid5 5y ago
        Fair enough. I'm in the unfortunate situation that Acetylsalicylsalicylic acid (wow, that's a mouthful!) is the only thing that really work for my headaches... so I might be counter-biased wrt. your experience. It's just that I perhaps seek it out by default and it's not difficult to obtain from that perspective. (Though you always have to listen to the lecture...)

csomar 5y ago

Yeah, I stopped right there. If we are going down that road, might as well take something stronger and get your brain foggy enough to be not in pain any more. Sure it works, just see the homeless people.

watwut 5y ago

More importantly, aspirin does not kill pain. Like, it does not work for that purpose at all.

coldtea 5y ago
Says who? "Aspirin is an everyday painkiller for aches and pains such as headache, toothache and period pain. It can also be used to treat colds and flu-like symptoms, and to bring down a high temperature." (NHS) "Aspirin works by blocking the production of prostaglandins, the on-off switch in cells that regulate pain and inflammation, among other things. That’s why aspirin stops mild inflammation and pain." (Washington University)
- watwut 5y ago
  Have you ever tried it? It literally does nothing. It is placebo at best.
  - coldtea 5y ago
    >Have you ever tried it? Yes. >It literally does nothing. It is placebo at best. Says who? Not science. Significant benefit of aspirin over placebo was shown for aspirin 600/650 mg, 1000 mg and 1200 mg, with numbers-needed-to-treat for at least 50% pain relief of 4.4 (4.0-4.9), 4.0 (3.2-5.4) and 2.4 (1.9-3.2) respectively. (...) Reviewer's conclusions: Aspirin is an effective analgesic for acute pain of moderate to severe intensity with a clear dose-response. Drowsiness and gastric irritation were seen as significant adverse effects even though the studies were single-dose. The pain relief achieved with aspirin was very similar milligram for milligram to that seen with paracetamol. Other study: Results: The results of the dental pain study for aspirin and acetaminophen with codeine suggest statistically significant efficacy for all measures compared with placebo at all time points. Aspirin provided statistically significant efficacy compared with acetaminophen with codeine for SPID(0-4) (P = 0.028). In the tension-type headache study, aspirin and acetaminophen with codeine provided statistically significant efficacy compared with placebo for SPID(0-4) and SPID(0-6) (P < 0.001) and for total pain relief (P < 0.001). (...) Conclusions: These 2 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies demonstrate that treatment with aspirin (1000 mg) provides statistically significant analgesic efficacy compared with placebo use and comparable efficacy with acetaminophen (300 mg) with codeine (30 mg) therapy after impacted third molar extraction and in tension- type headache. And so on. There are lots of studies for its use as a painkiller. And the above don't even touch arthritis and pain from inflammation, where it excels...

wccrawford 5y ago

As an American, I'm frequently told by people around me to take painkillers or other medicines if I even mention that I have something wrong with me, no matter how little. When I object and refuse, they attempt to pressure me into it. I wish I could teach them that not everything needs to be medicated, and letting your body do its job, even if there's some discomfort or pain involved, is fine. I prefer not to mess with my body chemistry unless it's a serious situation.

cromulent 5y ago

FWIW, Dr Karl, the Australian medical doctor / science communicator, often advocates early use of painkillers to avoid neural plasticity problems that lead to more pain as the pain related neural pathways are reinforced.