Are Pain Relief Patches Safe?
We’ve all woken up with that pain on the shoulders or on the back. It’s irritating and can limit your movement for a few days. This muscular pain is sometimes unavoidable. Still, there are a few things that you can do about it.
One of the fastest solutions for mild pain is a pain relief patch. Now, even though we’re talking about over-the-counter medication that is easy to get and cheap to buy, there are a few precautions to be taken.
As with any medication, there are side effects and best practices to be followed. That’s why it’s important to ask your doctor first.
So, are pain relied patches safe? The answer is, in general, yes. Pain relief patches are safe in most cases if you’re a healthy person. Now, if you have certain preexistent conditions, there might be serious side effects. For that reason, the best you can do is ask your physician before using them.
Also, it’s important to be aware that not all pain relief patches are FDA approved and that each one may have different substances. They’re all substances that alleviate pain and help the muscular tissue heal faster, but since they’re different it’s important to know what you’re allergic to.
Once you determine that, you can make the best decision for you. In general, yes, they’re safe. Now, there are things you need to know like when to use it, how to use it, and the specific cases that you shouldn’t use it at all, and the side effects.
After all, you’re still using a medication. Those patches have substances like menthol and methyl salicylate that act together as a topical analgesic.
Below, it’s a more detailed answer so you can find out when you should totally avoid pain relief patches.
How It Works
A pain relief patch works by releasing medicine that helps alleviate muscular lesions. The reason why it works so well is that by touching the muscle directly, the effects are faster than swallowing a pill.
These patches usually have menthol and methyl salicylate in their formula. They both work as topical analgesics that make the muscle relax and alleviate the pain.
All the patches work on the principle of transdermal application, which means that the medication is absorbed through the skin. No matter what is the specific formula, depending on the brand, they all have anti-inflammatory properties to alleviate the lesions on the muscle.
This means that the pain relief patch works by reducing the inflammation, thus making the pain alleviate or even go away completely. Now, if your pain is caused by a chronic problem like arthritis, the pain will subdue but you obviously won’t get rid of the cause.
Remember to use 1 patch at a time and in a time period of 8-12 hours. Even though the patch seems harmless, it is still medicine and should be treated as seriously. One highly rated patch can be found on Amazon. Click here to get the latest pricing.
When To Use
A pain relief patch can, theoretically, be used for any muscular pain. So, in theory, you could use it for any muscular tissue lesion that you might have. The problem is that in some cases, you’ll notice that your pain will not go away.
That is so because pain relief patches are highly recommended for mild pain. If you’re feeling some intense pain on your shoulder, for example, the best you can do is to consult your doctor. An oral administration medication may be the best option for your case.
Again, you should use one patch at a time. No matter how much pain you’re feeling, do not use more than one patch at a time. Remember to apply the patch over the area that you’re feeling the pain, trying to place it as close to the core of the source of the pain as you can.
You can put another patch after 8-12 hours of using the previous one. Just remember that you shouldn’t change before that and that you should not use a pain relief patch for more than 3 days in a row. People under 18 years old are also not recommended to use it.
When It’s Unsafe
There are a few people that might have a serious reaction to this kind of medication. Even though we’re talking about an over-the-counter medication, this one is still quite serious.
Besides knowing that you should only use it for mild to moderate pain in your muscles and joints, there are possible side effects to pain relief patches. Now, even though side effects are existent in any kind of medication and most of the time is just a really small percentage of the population that can have a problem with it, it’s still better to make sure.
So, the first thing is to read the label to know if you’re allergic to the substances that are present in the patch. This is the most obvious and first sign that you should not apply it over your skin.
Now, besides that, there are chronic diseases and conditions that might not react well to the substances. This means that you can have serious allergic reactions to the medication. For example, stomach bleeding, skin irritation, and etc. Below is a more in-depth look.
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Stomach Bleeding
NSAID, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is present in the formula of most pain relief patches. This medication may cause stomach bleeding in certain conditions. So, if you’re over 60 years old or if you take any kind of blood thinners or corticosteroids, you’re more pre-disposed of presenting such reaction to the substance.
Now, obviously, this is a small percentage of the population but the risks exist. Not only that but if you take other kinds of NSAIDs there may also happen an interaction with the other substance. If you are using a pain relief patch is also ideal that you do not drink alcohol. Just for the period that you’re using the patch. Obviously, the best you can do is to ask your physician to see if it’s safe and okay to make use of the patch for your case.
Allergies
If you have any kind of allergies, you should read the label of everything that you consume. This applies to pain relief patches. It’s important to be aware if you have allergies to any of the substances. Especially considering the fact that you absorb transdermal medicine faster.
Besides NSAID a lot of those products have aspirin in it. Since being allergic to aspirin is relatively common, you better read the label. Now, it’s not only allergies to the substances that might be the problem. If you had heart surgery or is about to get one you should avoid using it as well. Also, if you had stomach bleeding in your history, high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart disease, or take diuretics you should not make use of this medication.
If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, you should avoid it as well. The point is that you should always consult your physician before making use of any medication. Especially, the ones that act as topical analgesics since they can provoke allergic reactions.
Skin Irritation
Skin irritation is one of the most common reactions to pain relief patches. This happens due to the fact that pain relief patches are topical analgesics and for that reason, they may cause skin irritation.You should not apply the patch on your face or any skin area that might be sensitive. In that scenario, you should avoid any area of your body that the skin is irritated or damaged for any other reason.
If you hurt yourself, burned an area of your skin, or if your skin is partially damaged you should avoid the pain relief patch at all costs. The substances may provoke an even worse reaction that will result in skin irritation. Also, if you have any rashes you should avoid the pain relief patches as well. Anyway, if you experience any skin irritation after using the patch, you should discontinue it immediately.
If after a day the skin irritation does not subdue, you should consult your physician. Even minor skin irritation reactions might be a bad sign that should be further investigated. Thus, there are some factors that might prevent you from using this type of relief. However, there is an alternative. Click here to find out more.
Final Thoughts
So, that’s it. Pain relief patches are safe as long as you don’t have a preexistent condition that might cause a reaction to the topical analgesics or any other substance that the patch contains. Now, again, the best you can do is consult your physician and read the label. This way you ensure that you don’t have any problem in using these kinds of medication. Also, remember that the pain relief patches are supposed to treat mild to moderate pain. If you’re experiencing something too intense, you should consider other treatments.
So, as long as you apply the patch on the area that you’re feeling the pain, and you change the patch every 12 hours without using it for more than 3 days, you’re good to go. If you are convinced to try out a pain relief patch, click here to get the latest pricing from Amazon on a patch that is not only highly rated but one I highly recommend.