Opioids, or narcotics, are among the most commonly prescribed analgesic medications in America. They are effective painkillers, but they possess side effects that can significantly impact your quality of life. The risks of habituation and...
Caffeine is naturally found in coffee, tea and chocolate and is frequently added to soft drinks, cold remedies and over-the-counter headache medications and pain relievers. A common ingredient in many prescription drugs, caffeine helps the body...
Though pain is usually the result of some physical trauma or disease, it is produced as a subjective sensation in the nervous system, not by the trauma or disease itself. The nervous system detects chemical and physiological symptoms of trauma,...
Pain is often controlled with short-acting pain medication. These medications typically last from two to four hours and are good for acute pain that is expected to be short lived. In situations where pain is more chronic in nature, long-acting...
Suboxone is a drug manufactured by the British company, Reckitt Benckiser. It contains buprenorphine and naloxone at a ratio of four to one. Suboxone is administered sublingually, which is under the tongue. Buprenorphine is an opioid drug that is...
Pain is the body's response to damage occurring to its tissues. Pain symptoms sometimes linger even when the healing process is well under way, so controlling the pain is an important part of being able to resume normal day-to-day functioning. The...
A number of medications are used to manage pain. Doctors often recommend over-the-counter pain relievers, like aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen or naproxen, to ease mild to moderate discomfort. But when the pain is more severe, a prescription...
Medications for chronic pain and inflammation may be necessary for those coping with conditions such as arthritis. While a wide selections of drugs exist both over-the-counter and by prescription, side effects may make some drugs less...
A boxer exposes his body to severe impact and can sustain injuries as a result. Well developed abdominal muscles can absorb most of the impact a boxer suffers when taking a punch, and strong bones can withstand stronger impacts than those that...
Heel pain can be caused by a variety of conditions. Having heel pain can sideline you from your favorite sports, interrupt your workout routine and even make walking difficult. The first step is to have the cause of your heel pain diagnosed. Once...
Pulled muscles in the back occur when muscle tissue stretches beyond its normal limits, usually from a sudden, jarring movement or abnormal strain. Causes include sports injuries, heavy lifting, and slips and falls. Home treatment will suffice for...
Chemotherapy isa drug treatment that helps prevent the spread of cancer and/or kills the cancer cells. There are over 100 different chemotherapy drugs. The specific chemo drug used is determined by the type, stage and location of the cancer....
The hip joint is a synovial, diarthrotic, ball-and-socket joint. This means a person has a slippery membrane and joint fluid lubricating and nourishing his hip joint, permitting movement about all axes. The ball-and-socket characteristic of a...
Leg pain during exercise can be caused by overuse, working too hard or being overweight. The pain can manifest as sharp, dull, aching, heavy or burning, depending on the cause. It can also be sporadic or constant. If the underlying cause of the...
There are more than 100 conditions that can cause weight loss and itchy skin. Many of them, such as chromosome disease and chemical poisoning, are rare. Before jumping to conclusions and scheduling an appointment with a world-renowned...
Total knee replacement, or TKR, is not routine, but proper postoperative care can help restore mobility more quickly. Your knee joint is replaced by cutting the surface of the three bones that comprise the knee joint -- the thighbone, shinbone and...
Advil, the trade name for the compound ibuprofen, is one of many popular over-the-counter medications in the class of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. Runners make ample use of NSAIDs because of the high incidence of injuries and...
Overview Dysmenorrhea--or painful periods--is a condition that refers to the pain or discomfort associated with menstruation. Although not a serious medical problem, it is usually meant to describe a woman with menstrual symptoms severe enough...
What is Dysmenorrhea? This condition refers to the pain or discomfort associated with menstruation. Although not a serious medical problem, it’s usually severe enough to keep a woman from functioning for a day or two each month. Many...
Pregnancy can bring about a host of discomforts and challenges as well as joy. One of the common symptoms that pregnant women experience is headaches. Women who are prone to migraines may find that their symptoms increase dramatically or...
American Pregnancy suggests migraine headaches are like a lottery during pregnancy, as some women experience stronger pain while others go 40 weeks without the slightest indication of a migraine. Medications used to treat migraines during...
Daily migraines, or chronic migraines, are among the more common types of chronic pain. But migraines are more than just pain; they often have other associated symptoms as well, including visual disturbances, nausea or sensitivity to light and...
Normal wear and tear that occurs with age can cause a degenerative process all along the spine including the cervical, or neck area. The spine is made up of vertebrae, which have disks in-between them. With age, these disks can lose their fluid,...
Hip muscle pain may arise from injury to, or inflammation of, the hip muscles or tissues surrounding a person's hip muscles. Injuries to a person's hip muscles may be reduced if he warms up properly and gradually increases the intensity, duration...
Sweating is an autoregulatory process in which an individual releases salty liquid from the sweat glands to help the body stay cool. Since perspiration is an autoregulatory method for staying cool, individuals sweat more when outside or...
If you have had a stroke, it means your brain did not get the blood and oxygen it needs. This can damage cells and affect various functions in the body. Different situations can cause strokes. An ischemic stroke means that a blood clot has blocked...
Surprisingly enough, weather changes can trigger headaches in migraine sufferers. If the humidity or temperature fluctuates dramatically in a short period of time, a migraine headache may come on. If a sufferer exposes himself to very hot or very...
When professional hockey player Taylor Fedun crashed into the end boards during a game, more than his ego was bruised as he attempted to circumvent opponent Eric Nystrom to avoid an icing call. Doctors diagnosed the injury as a compound fracture....
Miconazole nitrate vaginal cream is an over-the-counter medication indicated to alleviate symptoms associated with a vaginal yeast infection. Typically, this medication is administered as a suppository that is inserted into the vagina. Women...
