After an injury, what medicine should I take?

This is a very important question, but not one a lot of people probably think much about. Most people likely think “What do I have that is close and will take the pain away?”

In a previous post I said “There is no healing without inflammation!” Inflammation is your body’s response to an injury. Damaged cells release chemical messengers that start the inflammatory process. Many over-the-counter pain medicines are also anti-inflammatory in nature. If you interrupt this process it can slow, or even stop the inflammatory process that is vital to the healing process. Ibuprofen, and naproxen are both anti-inflammatory, as well as being analgesic (pain killers). Of the common over-the-counter pain medicines, only ACETAMINOPHEN is not anti-inflammatory and will allow the healing to take place. If you need something stronger, a visit to your family doctor can usually put you into a narcotic that is a far better pain killer, and is also not anti-inflammatory.