Although we've all taken Tylenols and aspirins at onetime or another, do we really understand why they can help us to feel better? Do we take them to feelbetter?
Ibuprofen and acetaminophen are the most commonlyprescribed pain relievers. It is obvious that pain relievers do more than just rush tothe area of pain. They also repair the damage.
The cells and nerve endings are affected by painrelievers. They trickyour brain and nervous systems into believing that the pain is gone or at leastthat it has subsided. Prostaglandin is achemical that your cells release when you are injured. Prostaglandin is a chemical that your cells release to tellyour brain something is wrong. This is good because it prevents you fromwalking on a broken leg or going outside in the cold with an infection. It can also hurt!
This is where pain relievers are useful. Ibuprofen prevents yourcells from producing prostaglandin. This means that your brain takes longer tofeel the throbbing pain. The method foranesthesia is slightly different. This is because it uses more powerful painrelievers. The medication blocks nervecells so they don't communicate with one another and the brain doesn't receivethe pain message. This is a good thing, asthe doctor may slip if you jump and shout every time he makes an incision orputs pins in your bones.
