Are Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Safe for Your Daughter and Son?

Saturday, May 17, 2008 by: Glen Gordon MD
Tags: children's health, health news, Natural News

(NewsTarget) "Considering the large number of patients consuming NANSAIDs and the potential public health impact, until data from long-term, randomized, controlled trials become available, the FDA's recommendation that a warning statement be included in all non-selective NANSAIDs product package inserts is justified". Cheng JW, Ann Pharmacother. 2006 Oct;40(10):1785-96.

The above quote is from a scientific article in the National Library of Medicine and the term "all"(my emphasis) means exactly that. Vioxx illuminated the issue of safety for all non-aspirin non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NANSAIDs) and aftershocks are no less riveting. Even the American Heart Association is officially on record, "in patients at risk for heart disease these drugs should be the last line of defense in treating chronic pain". Since over 10% of Americans are already diagnosed with heart disease, how large does this "at risk" list become, and what of our sons and daughters who are completely overlooked but die of heart attacks at younger and younger ages? These may not be polite, but they are absolutely pertinent questions.

If you think NSAID use is only a problem for old geezers with imminent risk of heart attack, note that heart attack is also the No. 1 killer of women and adequate cause to worry about your entire family, especially teen-age daughters who take these bad boys monthly for premenstrual pain. In addition to kidney problems, GI bleeding, and liver problems, these agents are increasingly linked to heart attacks, which will draw huge industry smoke screens as investigators nail down the scope of risk across all age groups. Is there a connection between NSAID use at any age and later heart attack? This question must be answered! If investigators receive the support this deserves, we may see a scenario very reminiscent of Luther Terry and his report on smoking in the early 1960s. That was smoking, and NSAIDs are a "smoking gun" in the runaway increase in heart attack deaths, especially among women.

The drug companies will say it's diabetes, obesity, stress and who knows what else, which may be true, but the following may be a more subtle but just as deadly case for NSAIDs. Imagine the most inner layer of an artery as covered by vinyl floor tile akin to your kitchen. Each time an NSAID is swallowed there is a chance a corner of one or another tile can be lifted by the "pro-inflammatory", yes, the pro-inflammatory action of these "anti-inflammatory" drugs. If others and I are correct, that pro-inflammatory action of damaging these lining cells is enough to cause plaque initiation, which can be affected by many things, but may kill years later. Can a woman who took these drugs monthly as a teen in the midst of her period, a perfect storm of inflammation, be damaged by the pro-inflammatory action of a drug promising just the opposite, and die 30 or 40 yrs later? The quote above makes the point! These agents are deadly, 30,000 people die from GI bleeds related to taking them, and that could pale if the link to heart attacks is established.

435,000 women in the U.S. have heart attacks each year, nearly 10,000 of them under 45. If 50,000 Americans died from heart attacks caused by Vioxx, do NSAIDs also contribute to the epidemic we are seeing in women? That is the question scientists are looking at, and I would add -- at what age? Subtract 30 from 43 and bulls-eye! It is naive to think you may take these drugs, damage an artery, and simply have that damage disappear.

To pursue the natural balance of things in the direction of premenstrual pain, studies in Italy and here in the U.S. report excellent relief of pelvic pain with pulsed electromagnetic field technology in women of reproductive age including premenstrual cramping, and today designer models of cell phone size are soon to be available. A most amusing recollection is that of a young woman who had severe Premenstrual Disability Disorder (PMDD) who found for the first time in her adult life that she could remain at work if she sat at her desk with a transformer tethered device tucked inside her slacks. As karma might have it, she rose to answer a phone near her and later related, "that thing sure relieved my pain, but it almost disrobed me when I ran for the other phone". I assured her the technology worked just as well outside clothing whence she reminded me that using both hands demanded a less lady-like application.

Humor aside, others and I are very concerned that, like cigarette smoking, there will be much roaring and posturing before the very real issue of NSAIDs causing heart attack and stroke is fairly reviewed. Young women are seduced monthly to take these agents, but must be mindful of the statement above by a woman scientist. NSAID safety is an issue in any population and may be even more sinister in our teenagers.

About the author

Considered a senior scientist in the field of pulsed electromagnetic field technology Dr Gordon speaks internationally on this topic. Beginning in 1980, he has accumulated the largest clinical experience in the United States in treating human illness and injury.
An admirer of Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, Dr Gordon agrees with her that, "man made solutions imposed upon the natural balance of things diminish the experience of mankind". He sees drugs and surgery reflective of such man-made solutions and has been a pioneer in establishing the universal force of electromagnetism as "the natural balance of things" in tissue restoration after injury and illnes.