When you suffer with arthritis, one of the first moves you probably make to soothe your aching joints is to reach for aspirin or ibuprofen. And while there’s nothing technically wrong with doing that, it has now been suggested that pills might not be the best way to relieve arthritic pain. Instead, experts are suggesting that sprays, creams and gels are more likely to be effective for relieving symptoms of asthma.
Sometimes referred to as topical analgesics, these pain relievers are rubbed onto the affected area and can provide immediate aid. When the problem is close to the surface of the skin, it’s always recommended to use topical analgesics as they tend to work faster and allow you to avoid any body-wide side effects that can come from pills.
Arthritis tends to affect joints like the hands, feet, ankles, elbows and knees in those areas the medicines can penetrate to the source of the pain. Topical analgesics use anti-inflammatory drugs like the oral pain killers, except that they only affect the area that they are placed on. This allows them to fight the inflammation around the joint, which can cause stiffness, discomfort and pain.
If you have a stomach that is sensitive to pills and if your body simply doesn’t respond well to orally-taken drugs, it might be worth looking into topical analgesics as another option. They are highly effective at dealing with pain in a localised area.
It should be noted that these types of pain relief should never be used alongside other anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, as you run the risk of overloading the body with high doses of the same drug.
Another issue can revolve around sensitive skin. If you do have sensitive skin it doesn’t mean that you can’t use topical analgesics, it just means that you should take care and monitor your skin regularly to make you sure you don’t suffer any reactions.
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