Anti-Inflammatory Painkiller Drugs and Arthritis From the Cleveland Clinic

Commonly called NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are medicines that reduce inflammation and relieve pain. Inflammation is the body's response to irritation or injury, and is characterized by redness, warmth, swelling, and pain. NSAIDs are used to treat a variety of conditions that cause inflammation, including arthritis and tendinitis. NSAIDs also are used to treat pain from injury or other causes of long-term pain.

Over-the-Counter Drugs

These Include:

Prescription Drugs

These include:

* The COX-2 inhibitors (Bextra, Celebrex and Vioxx) are a newer form of NSAID that became available within the last several years. COX-2 inhibitors also relieve inflammation but were developed to decrease the chance of side effects that can occur with older types of NSAIDs, especially stomach bleeding. While they are generally safer in this regard, there is still some risk to the stomach with COX-2 inhibitors. The only COX-2 inhibitor currently available is Celebrex. Vioxx and Bextra have been removed from the market due to an increased risk of stroke and heart attack and, in the case of Bextra, serious skin reactions.

While Celebrex is still on the market, it, and all other prescription NSAIDs, must carry a warning on its label that users may face an increased risk of cardiovascular side effects as well as gastrointestinal bleeding. In addition to the prescription drugs, manufacturers of over-the-counter NSAID painkillers were instructed by the FDA in 2005 to revise their labels to clarify information about the risks of cardiovascular incidents, gastrointestinal bleeding and rare but serious skin reactions.

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