Use of analgesics in self-medication.
Self-medication with analgesics is common and accepted and even recommended by health systems in order to avoid reimbursement. Self-medication, nevertheless, is not an easy task, since making choices is difficult for patients on the basis of the available standard information. Guiding information for patients has to be improved, but also physicians need to be trained how to handle self-medication of their patients. Special attention should be paid to the approval of combination analgesics for the treatment of headache and migraine. There were two major points of discussion during the last decades: possible risks of nephropathy and possible drug-induced overuse. According to a very recent evaluation, analgesic-associated nephropathy appears to have been primarily caused by phenacetin rather than any other single or combination analgesics. Analgesic-induced overuse is also caused by the psychotropic actions of phenacetin in presentations providing rapid absorption, such as powders, rather than by other analgesics or caffeine.
Department of Neurophysiology, University of Saar, Köln, Germany. jofox@knuut.de
J M
JM
Fox
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002110:Caffeine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004357:Drug Synergism; D006261:Headache / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010615:Phenacetin / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012651:Self Medication / Q000009:adverse effects*
D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D002110:Caffeine; D010615:Phenacetin