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Article: How to avoid the side effects of common painkillers.
- Article from:
- Women's Health Letter
- Article date:
- March 1, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Women's Health Letter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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You may think that because some painkillers are available without a prescription, they're safe. Well, they're not. Whether obtained by prescription or over-thecounter, these drugs can be dangerous. I've told you in the past about the gastrointestinal complications they can cause, sometimes without warning.
These complications are very serious. NSAIDs send more than 100,000 people in this country to the hospital each year. Between 15,000 and 20,000 of them die annually from ulcers and stomach bleeding. And not surprisingly, older patients are in the highest risk for gastrointestinal bleeding.
Because of these huge numbers, a group of doctors recently came ...