There are several medications a person can take for aches and pains some of the most common ones are paracetamol and ibuprofen. Both of these drugs can be bought without a prescription.
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However, even if you can get these without prescriptions, you should still be cautious when taking them as they are still drugs. If taken properly, most medications are low-risk and don’t have many side effects.
But, if you are not careful and don’t take the recommended dosage, you could experience some serious side effects. Recent studies have found that regular use of ibuprofen can cause some ‘serious issues’.
Studies show taking ibuprofen regularly can cause ‘serious issues’
As reported by The Sun, taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin, naproxen, or ibuprofen can cause issues such as stomach ulcers, fertility problems, hearing problems and cardiovascular problems. Recently, it has also been discovered that NSAIDs increase the risk of blood clots.
Stomach ulcers are mostly caused by taking NSAID medication such as ibuprofen. As per The Sun, it is the most common cause of stomach ulcers, this is because the painkillers reduce your body’s ability to make a layer of mucus to protect your stomach’s lining from the acid in your stomach.
Another issue NSAIDs can cause is fertility problems. According to researchers, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, healthy young men who took pain medication for up to six weeks ‘produced less male sex hormones’.
The Dutch study analysed 18 to 35-year-olds who developed compensated hypogonadism after taking 600mg of ibuprofen twice a day. compensated hypogonadism is a condition that is developed when a body doesn’t produce enough testosterone.
A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology discovered that taking ibuprofen regularly could cause hearing loss. According to the research, women who took ibuprofen at least twice a week were ‘more likely’ to experience hearing loss.
The study also found that more frequent usage increased the risk by 24%. The study found similar results in men who took aspirin.
According to a study in 2016 published in the British Medical Journal, those who take NSAIDs increase the risk of cardiac arrest by 31%.
Finally, the most recent discovery suggests that taking medication such as ibuprofen can increase the chances of developing blood clots, especially in those who take hormonal contraception.
What dosage does the NHS recommend?
As mentioned before, if you take the recommended dosage of ibuprofen or any other NSAIDs, you limit the chances of developing serious issues. As per the NHS, the typical dosage for ibuprofen is one or two 200mg tablets 3 times a day for an adult.
In some cases, depending on your situation, your doctor may prescribe you 600mg to take 4 times a day, but these cases are typically supervised by your doctor.
If you’re taking ibuprofen granules, you should know they contain 600mg of ibuprofen and should be taken 2 to 3 times a day.
If you are taking ibuprofen, it is important to spread out each dose. It is recommended by the NHS to wait at least 6 hours between each dose if you take them 3 times a day. If you take a dose 4 times a day, the NHS recommends 4 hours between each.
Read more:
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⋙ An 89-year-old has died after taking too much vitamin D
Sources used:
The Sun: ‘DRUG DANGERS The 5 dangerous side effects of ibuprofen – from stomach bleeds to fertility issues’
NHS: ‘How and when to take or use ibuprofen’
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: ‘Ibuprofen alters human testicular physiology to produce a state of compensated hypogonadism’
American Journal of Epidemiology: ‘Analgesic Use and the Risk of Hearing Loss in Women’
British Medical Journal: ‘Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and risk of heart failure in four European countries: nested case-control study’
