WITH new regulations around the scheduling of paracetamol pack sizes and the down-scheduling of COX-2 inhibitors coming in this year, consumers are faced with a growing - and potentially confusing - range of pain relief options.
Dr Rose Cairns, Senior Lecturer at Sydney University's School of Pharmacy, has authored a new resource for pharmacists, The future of pain management in Australia, so they can assess everyday pain - from muscular aches to inflammation-based conditions - and match consumers with the most appropriate treatment.
Dr Cairns told Pharmacy Daily that while it could be read by a general audience as well, the main target is pharmacists.
"This year's changes around pharmacy-level pain management mean pharmacists play an essential role in educating patients," she said.
"As highly trusted, accessible healthcare professionals, it is important that pharmacists are on top of the most recent evidence around what effective options are out there, especially when it comes to over-the-counter medicines."
The resource summarises the latest evidence in terms of the role of inflammation in pain, explains the contribution of intentional and accidental overdose to the recent changes to paracetamol scheduling, and outlines the various options for the different types of pain the average person might experience.
Dr Cairns said one problem is that people may be taking something that is not particularly effective for them, so they may keep taking more and more.
"If we can try and tailor what pain people have in their lives and get them taking the thing that's most likely to work based on the evidence, then potentially that would reduce the risk of people taking too much," she said.
"They could try something different, or even try non-pharmacological approaches," she suggested.
There is also the issue of people taking multiple over-the-counter products, not realising they all have the same ingredient in them - so there is an educational role for the pharmacist there as well, she said.
The resource highlights the importance of inflammation literacy - understanding inflammation as a key driver behind many common pain conditions - and how this knowledge can improve treatment outcomes.
Dr Cairns told Pharmacy Daily that dental pain is one of the biggest drivers of unintentional paracetamol overdose, being overrepresented compared to other types of pain.
"People take two tablets every two hours because it's not working, and they're still in pain.
"Maybe there's an inflammatory component that's not being treated, so it's definitely worth trying an NSAID or even a combination product."
You can find the resource HERE. KB
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