What happens if you take too many painkillers? The dangers and side effects of taking painkillers frequently

People often experience various kinds of pain, so painkillers are almost a must-have in every household. Patients often adopt a life attitude of "stop pain when it hurts", so the phenomenon of abusing painkillers is relatively common. However, many consumers do not fully understand the many dangers of abusing painkillers. In fact, long-term dependence on painkillers is very harmful to the body.

The dangers of long-term use of painkillers

1. Allergic reactions . Many painkillers can cause asthma, urticaria, allergic rhinitis, etc. People with special constitutions may experience allergic reactions such as angioedema.

2. Damage to hematopoietic function . Long-term or excessive use of some painkillers can damage the hematopoietic system and white blood cells, causing diseases such as granulocytopenia, aplastic anemia, and coagulation disorders.

3. Gastric mucosal damage . Long-term or large-scale use of painkillers, especially when taken on an empty stomach, may cause indigestion symptoms such as upper abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, fullness, and loss of appetite. Severe cases may cause gastric mucosal damage and gastric bleeding.

4. Cause toxic hepatitis . Long-term or excessive use of paracetamol can affect liver function and cause toxic hepatitis.

5. Lead to renal insufficiency . The renal insufficiency caused by analgesics accounts for 37% of drug-induced renal insufficiency, among which the renal damage caused by indomethacin preparations accounts for the majority.

6. Induce tumors . Long-term use of some painkillers can induce kidney cancer, renal pelvis cancer, bladder cancer, etc.

7. Adverse reactions of the nervous system : Headache, dizziness, tinnitus, deafness, amblyopia, drowsiness, insomnia, paresthesia, numbness, etc. may occur.

8. Damage to hearing . Long-term use of painkillers can cause hearing loss.

9. Induce gastric ulcer . Drugs such as salicylic acid, aspirin, and indomethacin can irritate the gastric mucosa, cause severe gastrointestinal reactions, induce gastric ulcers, and even gastric bleeding and perforation.

10. Bleeding tendency . Salicylic acid, aspirin, etc. can inhibit the formation of prothrombin in the liver, reduce the prothrombin content in the blood, and affect the physiological function of platelets, prolonging the coagulation time, affecting the coagulation function, and causing bleeding tendency.

11. Cause leukocytopenia . Analgin, phenylbutazone, and indomethacin can inhibit the bone marrow and cause leukocytopenia, and even lead to agranulocytosis.

12. The use of indomethacin may cause central nervous system symptoms such as headache, dizziness, etc.

13. Masking symptoms . The use of painkillers can mask the condition, delay diagnosis, and delay treatment.

14. Induce cardiovascular system diseases . Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics can significantly interfere with blood pressure, increase mean arterial pressure, and increase the relative risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events with rofecoxib.

15. Easy to get addicted . Some painkillers, especially high-efficiency painkillers, can cause addiction if used for a long time. In particular, central analgesics such as tramadol can also cause addiction if used irrationally.