NSAIDs stands for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These types of medications relieve swelling and pain by decreasing inflammation in the body. Physicians often prescribe them or recommend over-the-counter versions in the treatment of such inflammatory conditions as gout and arthritis. NSAIDs can be obtained either over-the-counter or by prescription.
Acetylsalicylic Acid
Aspirin, the original brand name for acetylsalicylic acid, has helped reduce pain since its introduction in 1899. Classified as an NSAID, aspirin can help relieve minor pain and lower fevers. It also can help prevent heart attacks if taken in small daily doses. The National Institutes of Health report that aspirin at the prescription level can treat systemic lupus erythematosus as well as forms of arthritis.
Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen was the first new NSAID in years, marketed originally in 1964, but gaining wide release as a prescription aid for controlling arthritis pain and swelling symptoms a decade later. The medicine, created in England, was offered over-the-counter in the United States in 1985. Doctors may prescribe higher doses of the medication for more severe pain.
Naproxen
Naproxen, like ibuprofen, started in higher doses as a prescription-only drug that later also went to over-the-counter distribution. It, too, works to relieve swelling and pain induced by inflammation by reducing the inflammation.
Celecoxib
Available only as a prescription drug as of June 2010, doctors prescribe Celecoxib mostly to treat rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, although it may help other types of pain as well. For example, the Mayo Clinic states the medication can help in the treatment of spinal arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis.
Indomethacin
Indomethacin, too, is available only as a prescription NSAID. While it may help rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, doctors commonly prescribe it to help relieve pain and swelling from gout, tendonitis and bursitis, reports Drugs.com.
Aspirin Combinations
Pharmaceutical companies combine acetylsalicylic acid with several other types of drugs for different purposes. For example, aspirin along with the narcotic analgesic dihydrocodeine--as well as other narcotics--and caffeine can help treat more severe pain than aspirin alone. Orphenadrine and caffeine work with aspirin to help both relieve pain and relax muscles, according to the Mayo Clinic. Butalbital, a barbiturate, and acetylsalicylic acid also can help relax a person's body. The same effect can occur with a combination of aspirin and carisoprodol.
Ibuprofen Combinations
Combinations of ibuprofen with narcotics such as oxycodone and hydrocodone can help fight pain classified as "acute," meaning intense and immediate. Because of the addictive qualities of narcotics, the Mayo Clinic notes that these combination drugs may be prescribed only for a short time.
Naproxen Combination
Physicians may prescribe a combination of naproxen and sumatriptan for relieving some forms of migraine headache pain.
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