Almost everyone is familar with pain relief formulas. Over 30 billion over counter tablets, and 70 million prescriptions are sold annually just in 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 scope of this problem is generally under-appreciated." American Journal of Medicine, July 1998
And from 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 United States. This figure is similar to number of deaths from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and considerably greater than 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 National Vital Statistics reports, these effects would constitute 15th most common cause of death in United States. Yet these toxic effects remain mainly a 'silent epidemic,' with many physicians and most patients unaware of magnitude of problem.