Arthritis and Pain Relief Medications cause 16,500 deaths per
year
Almost everyone is familar with the pain relief formulas. Over
30 billion over the counter tablets, and 70 million
prescriptions are sold annually just in the USA.
Known as "Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs" (NSAIDs), a few
commonly known names include Aspirin, Ibuprofin, Advil, Motrin
as well as prescription products like Celebrex, Vioxx, Daypro
and more.
Here's something you might "not" know about common pain relief...
"Conservative calculations estimate that approximately 107,000
patients are hospitalized annually for nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI)
complications and at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur
each year among arthritis patients alone. The figures of all
NSAID users would be overwhelming, yet the scope of this problem
is generally under-appreciated." American Journal of Medicine,
July 1998
And from the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine...
"It has been estimated conservatively that 16,500 NSAID-related
deaths occur among patients with rheumatoid arthritis or
osteoarthritis every year in the United States. This figure is
similar to the number of deaths from the acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome and considerably greater than the
number of deaths from multiple myeloma, asthma, cervical cancer,
or Hodgkin's disease.
If deaths from gastrointestinal toxic effects from NSAIDs were
tabulated separately in the National Vital Statistics reports,
these effects would constitute the 15th most common cause of
death in the United States. Yet these toxic effects remain
mainly a 'silent epidemic,' with many physicians and most
patients unaware of the magnitude of the problem.
Furthermore the mortality statistics do not include deaths
ascribed to the use of over-the-counter NSAIDS." New England
Journal of Medicine
The Food and Drug Administration suggests even higher figures,
estimating NSAID use accounts for 10,000 to 20,000 deaths per
year in the United States alone. In spite of this knowledge,
little has been done to notify the public. There has been no
large scale public alert and pharmaceutical companies still
market and promote worldwide sales of these products.
It is important to note that most people have no warning signs
that these drugs are causing internal damage before they end up
in the hospital in serious condition. As the death toll rises
annually, consumers are slowly learning the toxic effects of
these medications and turning to Mother Earth to seek natural
and less toxic alternatives to find relief from pain.
References;
Singh Gurkirpal, MD, "Recent Considerations in Nonsteroidal
Anti-Inflammatory Drug Gastropathy", The American Journal of
Medicine, July 27, 1998, p. 31S
Wolfe M. MD, Lichtenstein D. MD, and Singh Gurkirpal, MD,
"Gastrointestinal Toxicity of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory
Drugs", The New England Journal of Medicine, June 17, 1999, Vol.
340, No. 24, pp. 1888-1889.
Fries James F., "NSAID Gastropathy: The Second Most Deadly
Rheumatic Disease? Epidemiology and Risk Appraisal", Journal of
Rheumatology, 1991, (Supplement 28), Vol. 18, pp. 6-10
healthsentinel.com &
content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/340/24/1888