Analgesics for Osteoarthritis Pain

Acetaminophen
What are the generic and brand names?Acetaminophen is the generic name for this medicine. The brand name is Tylenol®.
Is this medicine available without a prescription?This medicine is available without a prescription.
How well does this medicine help pain and swelling?
  • Research says this medicine does not reduce pain as well as NSAIDs do.
  • This medicine does not reduce swelling.
What are the possible side effects of this medicine?
  • This medicine can cause liver damage if too much is taken or if it is taken with alcohol.
NSAIDs
What are the generic and brand names?These medicines go by many generic and brand names:
  • Ibuprofen
    • Motrin®
    • Advil®
  • Diclofenac
    • Cambia®
    • Cataflam®
    • Voltaren®
    • Voltarol®
    • Zipsor®
  • Naproxen
    • Aleve®
    • Naprosyn®
  • Celecoxib
    • Celebrex®
  • Etodolac
    • Lodine®
  • Meloxicam
    • Mobic®
Are any of these medicines available without a prescription?Ibuprofen and naproxen are available without a prescription.
How well do these medicines help pain and swelling?
  • All these medicines relieve pain and swelling about the same as each other.
  • Research says that all these medicines reduce pain better than acetaminophen.
  • Diclofenac skin cream works as well as NSAID pills.
What are the possible side effects of these medicines?
  • All of these medicines can cause serious stomach problems like bleeding or ulcers. More people had these problems with these NSAIDs:
    • Naproxen
    • Ibuprofen
    • Diclofenac
  • More people had stomach bleeding after taking naproxen than people taking ibuprofen.
  • All NSAIDs except for naproxen can increase your chances of having heart problems.
Skin Creams
What are the generic and brand names?
  • NSAIDs
    • Diclofenac (Voltaren®)
    • Ibuprofen
  • Capsaicin
    • Theragen®
    • Zostrix®
    • Capsagel®
    • Salonpas-Hot®
  • Salicylate
    • Aspercreme®
    • BenGay®
    • Sportscreme®
Are any of these medicines available without a prescription?Capsaicin and salicylate creams are available without a prescription.
How well do these medicines help pain and swelling?
  • People who used NSAID skin creams instead of pills had less risk of having serious stomach problems, but had a higher risk of having dry skin, rash, and itching.
  • Diclofenac skin cream works as well as NSAID pills.
  • Some research says that capsaicin may relieve pain as well as NSAIDs, and salicylate may not, but there is not enough research to know for sure.
What are the possible side effects of these medicines?
  • NSAID skin creams may cause dry skin, rash, and itching.
  • Capsaicin might cause a slight burning feeling the first few times it is used.
Supplements
What are the generic and brand names?The generic names for these supplements are glucosamine (pronounced glue-KOH-suh-meen) and chondroitin (pronounced kon-DROY-tin). These are sold under many brand names, and are sometimes sold together as one pill.
Are these supplements available without a prescription?These supplements are available without a prescription, and can be found in grocery stores, drug stores, and natural food stores.
How well do these supplements help pain and swelling?
  • They may work as well as NSAID pills to relieve pain, but there is not enough research to know for sure.
What are the possible side effects of these supplements?
  • There is not enough research to say if these supplements cause side effects.
  • Supplements sold in the United States are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This means that the quality of the glucosamine and chondroitin may vary and their contents may be different from what is listed on the bottle. The supplements that have been studied were prescriptions that are 99% pure with no added ingredients and are not available in the United States. This means that the supplements you buy may not be the same as the ones that were researched.

From: Managing Osteoarthritis Pain With Medicines

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