Imagine you’re walking in your garden barefoot, and you suddenly step on a rose thorn. What will happen? Needless to say, you scream in pain. Next, you would reach out for your first aid kit and pop in some painkillers. Voila! the pain goes away, and you are back to normal. Have you ever thought what is the science behind pain and how do painkillers work to relieve pain?
We Have Pain Receptors All Over That Send Signals To The Brain
We have pain receptors or detectors all over our bodies. Each pain receptor is a highly specialized nerve cell called ‘nociceptor’. The nociceptors run through different parts of your body to the spinal cord and the brain.
Whenever you hurt yourself, chemical signals are released that activate our pain receptors (nociceptors) present at the site of injury. One such group of chemicals that activate nociceptors is ‘Prostaglandins’. In response to the release of prostaglandins, the nociceptors send electrical signals to the brain to warn the brain of some sort of danger. And you feel the pain.
A Chain of Chemical Changes Lead Us To Perceive Pain
Prostaglandins are produced at the site of injury with the help of an enzyme called cyclooxygenase or Cox. Cox is activated only in the presence of another chemical called arachidonic acid. You may consider Cox as a lock and arachidonic acid as a key. The Cox lock gets activated only when the arachidonic acid key fits into it. Once the Cox lock is activated, prostaglandins are produced which send pain signals to the brain.
Painkillers Block Pain Signals
Painkillers like aspirin and ibuprofen are like duplicate keys to these Cox locks. When you take these painkillers, they travel to all the pain receptors located in your body through your bloodstream, fit into the Cox lock and block the binding of the original key (i.e., arachidonic acid). No prostaglandins are produced, thereby, no pain signals are sent to the brain, and you feel that the pain is relieved.
While over-the-counter painkillers like aspirin, ibuprofen, and paracetamol work by blocking or inhibiting the production of the chemical messengers ‘prostaglandins’, another class of painkillers i.e., the opioids work by blocking the pain messages that are being sent to the brain. Opioids attach to the opioid receptors on the nerve cells present in the brain and change the way we perceive pain. Such drugs are mostly prescribed for chronic conditions and cannot be bought without a doctor’s prescription as they can be addictive if misused.
Here Is Why You Should Never Overuse or Misuse Painkillers
Painkillers are generally safe and effective when taken as per the manufacturer’s directions (for over-the-counter painkillers, like acetaminophen aka paracetamol, aspirin, ibuprofen) or under a doctor’s supervision (for opioids, like codeine). Misuse or over-use of any of these painkillers can be extremely detrimental to health and can even be deadly. So, stop misusing them if you are. And if you have been popping in painkillers lately and haven’t been to a doctor, go see a doctor; the pain that you are experiencing could have an underlying cause that needs to be addressed.
📚 📚 📚 📚 Read More On This 📚 📚 📚 📚
- Nociceptors (Science Direct)
- Prostaglandins (Chemistry LibreTexts)
- The Cyclooxygenases (Genome Biology)
- Arachidonic Acid (Science Direct)
- Aspirin (PubChem Compound Summary)
- Ibuprofen (PubChem Compound Summary)
- Acetaminophen aka Paracetamol (PubChem Compound Summary)
- Codeine (PubChem Compound Summary)
- An overview of analgesics: NSAIDs, paracetamol, and topical analgesics (Research Article in South African Family Practice)
- Pain Relief: How NSAIDs work? (WebMD)
Learning With Fun
Learn about painkillers through this animation from our YouTube Channel:
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