“Since its market introduction under the trademark Aspirin in the year 1899, acetylsalicylic acid has attained a leading position world-wide in the prescription-free therapy of painful, inflammatory and feverish states. The substance’s tolerability and special pharmacological traits allow for an easy controlling of therapy.” MORE ➲

“While the overall qualities of warmth and heat have long been associated with comfort and relaxation, heat therapy goes a step further and can provide both pain relief and healing benefits for many types of lower back pain.” MORE ➲

“For the treatment of pain, Americans rate massage as highly as medications, a new survey shows… Among those who actually had a massage in the past year, 28 percent say massage therapy gives them ‘the greatest relief from pain.’ Another 28 percent say medication gives them the greatest relief. Chiropractic comes in third at 11 percent, followed by 8 percent who got the most pain relief from physical therapy, 3 percent who said acupuncture was best for their pain, and 1 percent whose pain best responded to biofeedback.” MORE ➲

“The only medically-approved uses for laudanum in the United States are for treating diarrhea and pain. Laudanum, as deodorized opium tincture, contains the equivalent of 10 milligrams of morphine per milliliter. By contrast, laudanum’s weaker cousin, paregoric, also known as camphorated tincture of opium, is 1/25th the strength of laudanum, containing only 0.4 milligrams of morphine per milliliter.” MORE ➲

“The increasing use of methadone for pain relief, rather than to help people overcome addiction, has led to a sharp spike in deaths, both nationally and in Kansas.” MORE ➲

Or, “Effects of high-dose heroin versus morphine in intravenous drug users: A randomised double-blind crossover study. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of high doses of injected opiates as prescribed maintenance in intravenous drugs users. This was accomplished via a randomised double-blind study with crossover at an outpatient clinic in Bern, Switzerland. The subjects were 39 patients with a long history of intravenous opioid use and persistent abuse despite treatment…” MORE ➲

“Smoking marijuana eased HIV-related pain in some patients in a small study that nevertheless represented one of the few rigorous attempts to find out whether the drug has medicinal benefits. The Bush administration’s Office of National Drug Control Policy quickly sought to shoot holes in the experiment.” MORE ➲

“During the Civil War, the painkiller used most often was morphine. The morphine was often given as opium pills. The surgeons of that day had no idea what an addiction was. As a result, most of the soldiers that came back form the war were addicted to opium. Opium, however, was not hard to come by and could be found at a local drug store.” MORE ➲

“To ease the pain the patient was given a couple of stiff belts of whiskey to numb the senses, then given a stick or lead bullet to bite down on as the surgeon went to work with knife and saw. The bullet or stick was given to let the patient focus their energy and attention on the biting instead of the cutting and pain.” MORE ➲

“Advancing anaesthesia throughout the developing world.” MORE ➲

“After using at least 10 different prescriptions some of which were given to counteract the side-effects of other medication, and getting busted for drug possession and trafficking, Burkholder decided to fight in court for a legal exemption to smoke his medicine sticks.” MORE ➲

“Nicole Richie, arrested by the California Highway Patrol [last year] on suspicion of driving under the influence, admitted to officers that she had smoked marijuana and consumed the painkiller Vicodin, Altadena CHP Officer Todd Workman tells PEOPLE.” MORE ➲

“The fact that so many legal drugs pose serious health risks is also reigniting a debate over the medicinal value of other substances — illegal drugs, particularly marijuana — and what critics believe is the government’s continuing resistance to studying their possible benefits.” MORE ➲

“Worried about those capsules you found in your teenager’s room? Not sure about some of those leftover pills still in the bathroom cabinet? There’s a good chance that our Pill Identification Wizard can help you match size, shape, colour… then lead you to the detailed description in our drugs database.” MORE ➲

“over the years, i have compiled a reasonably comprehensive first aid kit. it is designed to cover just about everything i might need in all and any given situation. this kit has been with me to cities, kampungs, seas and forests.” MORE ➲

“Saliva from humans has yielded a natural painkiller up to six times more powerful than morphine, researchers say. The substance, dubbed opiorphin, may spawn a new generation of natural painkillers that relieve pain as well as morphine but without the addictive and psychological side effects of the traditional drug.” MORE ➲

“Deciding which medicine to give a child in pain just got easier: The first head-to-head study of three common painkillers found that ibuprofen works best, at least for kids with broken bones, bruises and sprains.” MORE ➲

“FDA has strengthened the warnings and precautions sections in the labeling of OxyContin (oxycodone HCl controlled-release) Tablets, a narcotic drug approved for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. In recent months, there have been numerous reports of OxyContin diversion and abuse in several states. Some of these reported cases have been associated with serious consequences including death.” MORE ➲

Basic info from the DEA about four of the most commonly abused painkillers: Vicodin, OxyContin, Fentanyl and Ultram. MORE ➲

“Popular painkillers such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen can raise blood pressure and thus the risk of heart disease among men, U.S. researchers reported [last week].” MORE ➲

“What are the best pain pills? Which pain killers have the worst side-effects? The pain relievers below were ranked by effectiveness for chronic back pain, by a Harvard Study Summary. Each pain medication was rated for effectiveness on a scale of from 1 (aspirin) to 10 (morphine).” MORE ➲

“An analgesic (colloquially known as a painkiller) is any member of the diverse group of drugs used to relieve pain (achieve analgesia). This derives from Greek an-, ‘without’, and -algia, ‘pain’.” READ ➲