Painkillers

[natalie_1982]

How do painkillers work? I mean how do they know to stop the pain in that particular place?

[WoWo]

They don't unless they are the injection type. They just stop all general pain.

[undercovers]

i thought that paracetomol stopped pain in the head but wouldn't help with a painful knee (for instance) - but i don't understand why either

[rekstout]

I believe that most painkillers work on the principle of blocking the reception of chemical pain signals and preventing the sensation of pain being transmitted throgh the nervous system. They are not smart enough to know where the pain is as a rule and work systemically but you only notice them working where there is (or should be) pain.

[secretspirit]

Ibuprofen types (Eg nurofen) are anti inflammatory so they cut down on swelling that might be causing pain. At least I think so.