While NSAID’s (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are excellent anti-inflammatory pain medications, they can have severe adverse side effects.  Some of these include kidney failure, GI tract/stomach bleeding, decreased platelets in your blood, liver damage, and high blood pressure. Many patients have been instructed to avoid anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAID’s but it’s important to recognize what medicines are actually NSAID’s. The common over the counter agents with NSAID’s are: Advil, Midol, Motrin, some types of Dayquil and Dimetapp and other cold and sinus medications,Aleve and Goody’s powder. But there are a lot more than that!  So, it’s important to check the ingredients in each medication you buy over the counter or the generic name for a prescription you are written to see if any of the following drugs are in them.   Here’s a list of what to look for:

Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Naprosyn, Ketoprofen, Flurbiprofen, Oxaprozin, Diclofenac, Etodolac, Tolmetin, Sulindac, Indomethacin, Toradol/Ketorolac, Meloxicam, Piroxicam, Meclofenamate, Nabumetone, Celecoxib/Celebrex