9 cases where ibuprofen doesn't work and can be dangerous

It is not surprising that ibuprofen is one of the 10 best-selling drugs in our country. This pill is used to treat various pathologies, athletes call it 'vitamin I' and many think that it cures any pain. The problem with this drug from the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory family (ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib, …) is that most of the population thinks that it can only bring benefits, but the reality is that if it is taken at certain times it could harm our health.

'Reader's Digest' has compiled several situations in which taking one could be of absolutely no use, apart from being able to be dangerous to our body.

Gastric problems

It is well known that this medicine can irritate the stomach and intestines. But what some are unaware of is that they can also reduce blood flow in wounds and decrease the ability to regenerate tissue. If we add digestive problems and some inflammatory bowel disease, you should surely avoid it.

Consuming this medication can irritate the stomach, intestines, reduce blood flow in wounds and decrease tissue regeneration.

Heart problems

Although it is true that a low dose of aspirin may help In preventing a heart attack, other pain relievers in the ibuprofen family are associated with an increased likelihood of a heart attack.

A study published in the 'British Medical Journal' shows that the risk of heart attack increases between 20% and 50% among people who consume drugs of this family almost daily.

If you are going to exercise

Take an ibuprofen before intense exercise can cause serious problems, since it 'silences' the pain we feel in our body and can cause us to push it harder, with the consequent injury. Also, if you are training extremely hard, taking ibuprofen can increase the kidney damage caused by training.

An 'Emergency Medicine Journal' study found that marathon participants those who took ibuprofen during the race were 18% more likely to have an acute kidney injury than those who took a placebo.

Urinary infection

A study published in 'PLOS Medicine' shows that women who took ibuprofen alone to treat a urinary infection it took an average of three more days in healing themselves than those who took antibiotics. Furthermore, if they only took this anti-inflammatory they were exposed to an increased risk of complications.

Mix with alcohol

All our lives we have been told that Medications should not be mixed with alcoholic beverages. In the specific case of buprofen, beyond combining them can modify the effects, it can also affect the stomach.

If alcohol irritates the belly and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs too, put them together it can be a bomb for our body. "Mixing them should be avoided because it increases the risk of stomach ulcers," explains Catherine Sherwin, a member of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.

If you have asthma

Ibuprofen reduces inflammation by inhibiting an enzyme that reduces the production of substances called prostaglandins. The problem is that this anti-inflammatory drug is that it interferes with prostaglandins and could increase asthma.

This medicine should be avoided if you are going to exercise, drink alcohol, are pregnant, have a heart condition or other specific pathologies

"Asthmatics who have demonstrated sensitivity could have life-threatening bronchospasm"says David Craig, a pharmacist at the Moffitt Cancer Center.

Mix with anticoagulants

If you are taking blood thinners like warfarin or antiplatelets like Plavix (it is usually prescribed for people at high risk of stroke or pulmonary embolism) it should be avoid mixing with medications from the ibuprofen family. "Combining these could significantly increase the risk of hemorrhagic complications"Craig explains.

In pregnancy

If you are pregnant, or think you may be, you should avoid it: it is more than proven that its consumption can harm the fetus. If you take one of these pills in the first weeks of gestation atSignificantly increases the risk of miscarriage and in the third trimester it can cause cardiac malformations to the fetus.

A study at the University of Oxford establishes a relationship between women who took ibuprofen during their first trimester and a subsequent reduction in the development of eggs in the fetal ovaries, which could compromise a daughter's future fertility.

Ibuprofen is also not a good idea throughout the previous process and the delivery itself, It could cause prolonged bleeding.

If you have arthritis

A study of the 'European Heart Journal' reveals negative effects on blood pressure when consuming medications such as ibuprofen in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. All medications in this family were associated with an increased risk of hypertension, and ibuprofen had the worst impact on patients.