Vioxx: Why You Shouldn’t Rely on Pain Relievers
Pain is a feeling that nobody wants to experience. It comes and many forms and it affects everyone, even the best of us. And while it’s a fact that each individual has a different pain threshold, the common consensus on pain is that we’d rather be without it. A lot of drug manufacturing companies know this for a fact, and they are quick to capitalize on this truth.
Vioxx was a painkiller that was manufactured by Merck. It was designed to relieve pain and reduce inflammation in patients affected by osteoarthritis. It was also used to relieve pain brought about by menstruation.
photo/ Andrea
How Do Painkillers Work?
When your gym trainer tells you not to take painkillers if your muscles are extremely sore after a workout session, you best believe them — the reason being the way that painkillers work on the body.
When a part of your body is injured, the nerves surrounding the affected area send messages to your brain. The brain then interprets these messages and perceives them as pain. And well, the more nerves that are affected by the injury, naturally the stronger the pain signals will be.
Now, painkillers such as aspirin and opiates, both of which are naturally-occurring painkillers, block these pain signals in order to keep your brain from receiving and registering pain signals. To the user, this may seem like instant relief, and well, it truly is, perspective-wise. But the danger here is that you aren’t directly addressing the thing that’s causing the pain.
So, as soon as the painkiller wears off, the pain returns. And in turn, what does the user do? Since the painkiller worked, the user associates the painkiller with the solution to the problem, and by doing so the user is apt to take more painkillers. This is exactly why opium addiction is so dangerous.
Vioxx and its Fall
Now, Vioxx worked in the same manner. And while it actually did what it was supposed to do, there simply wasn’t enough testing that was conducted on the drug. The APPROVe trial (Adenomatous Polyp Prevention on Vioxx) showed that patients who took 25 mgs of Vioxx were at a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases.
This led Merck to completely cease the production of Vioxx. But the damage has been done. In 2007, a mass tort settlement was reached in favor of the plaintiff. The defendant, Merck, was held responsible for around 40,000 deaths related to the use of Vioxx.
The age we exist in is one of innovation and development. In almost every industry, we are constantly seeing technological leaps, and it’s inevitable that one day someone’s going to develop a pill to cure every illness. But these shouldn’t be our go-to remedies.
Should you ever find yourself in need of assistance will a mass tort lawsuit, then you should always consult with lawyers such as the ones at Skikos Law first. They have been in the field of mass tort litigation for over 25 years and unlike painkillers, you can actually rely on these professionals.
Author: Mahendra
