NEWS: Yet another Popular Painkiller in Question

Another painkiller, Naproxen, is the fouth painkiller in three months to be recognized as a major contributing factor to causing significant heart problems. Apparently, taking 440 milligrams of Naproxen daily causes an increased risk of heart problems. The U.S. National Institute of Health halted its tests on Naproxen after learning of the pill's harmful effects. Vioxx and Celebrex were two other pills that were also recently taken off the market for their increased risk of cardiovascular problems



It comes as no surprise to me that these events are taking place, a direct reflection on the health care industry and pharmaceutical companies. A recent poll was even taken on prescription drugs. The results stated that a significant amount of Americans trust the safety of prescription drugs. I believe that Americans want to believe that the health care industry and pharmaceutical companies are doing a great job creating new drugs that are safe for them to use in countering an overwhelming number of diseases and ailments that occur in America alone even though many of these drugs have numerous painful side effects that make taking them worse than just living with the ailment itself. I believe that people should always be skeptic about new drugs that appear on the market and they should not be so quick to trust any of these drugs. At the same time, I feel that people should attempt to become more knowledgable about health and start taking more initiative in protecting their health. I feel as if many of the health problems in America could be avoided if more people were health conscious. Nowadays, being health conscious is a matter of life and death.

Related News Links:
www.vioxx-center.com

[edit on 22-12-2004 by Banshee]

I believe that this was in relation to the 'pain-killer' Aleve. The Naproxen warning also indicates that in the use of such (Aleve) that the potential is there for higher rates or causation of heart attacks, but that if used and taken as prescribed, the rate was minimalized.

Concern is merited though, but over-reaction is is also cautioned.
Doctors warn of overreaction to naproxen finding




seekerof

[edit on 12/19/2004 by Mr Knowledge]

Seems the only good painkillers will be the good ole narcotic type ones