Research reported in the latest edition of 'The Lancet' indicates that taking certain common drugs for a protracted period of time may be bad for you. Yet again, it's taken so-called 'experts' and 'researchers' to reveal something that anyone with a brain will probably have surmised already.
The drugs in question this time are ibuprofen and diclofenac, both very commonly taken by patients who need anti-inflammatory, painkilling drugs, which means that they're often prescribed for those suffering from arthritis. The research has apparently shown that long-term use of these drugs can lead to an increased risk of the taker experiencing heart problems, including heart attack.
It is a simple fact that filling one's body with unnatural substances can be dangerous. Over the years, many drugs, probably thousands, have been produced, used for a while and then withdrawn as medium-term side-effects have become apparent. The greatest issue arose with thalidomide almost 50 years ago, but many others have come and gone as well; steroids were once the new 'wonder drug' but their use is now very carefully controlled due to a wide range of negative effects. The real problem is that the testing of new drugs is insufficient to discover more than a handful of short-term side effects, and the longer terms actions only become noticeable once any drug has been in use for many years and. sometimes, decades.
Drug companies invest large amounts of money in developing new drugs and want to recoup their investments as quickly as possible; this means that drugs are often brought to the market far too quickly as the companies rush through their testing and have even been known to ignore test results that don't suit their needs. Drugs are rushed out and doctors are urged to prescribe them; patients are assured that they are safe and all is well for a year, or a decade, before alarm bells begin to ring. Then it's panic stations.
The problems with ibuprofen and diclofenac have been said to be very minor, but who's to say that this will remain the researchers position or that other researchers may discover further downsides to these drugs ? Many of us are prescribed medicines for common conditions such as hypertension and we take the drugs, often as cocktails of 2 or 3 different ones, every day of our lives; we are told that those over a certain age should all take statins to control our cholesterol levels, but what is really known about the long-term effects of such medication ?
Problems such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels can be managed through other means such as changes to diet and levels of activity, but we choose to take drugs and carry on with an unhealthy lifestyle instead. Those with arthritis and other chronic conditions may not have the same choice but are, nonetheless, in the same position, that is, they are prescribed drugs to take every day. Given the regularity with which some of these concoctions are removed from the market for their adverse effects, is it not time that we looked for other ways of treating our diseases ?
All this, and I haven't even mentioned the worst of the lot - anti-biotics.
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