Pain is common among people, especially in older age. Generally speaking, it can be divided into two types, acute and chronic pain. Acute pain is a short-lived type that can start suddenly and is closely related to some medical condition or injury. Chronic pain, on the other hand, is a pain that lasts longer than the expected time for healing. It’s said that if the pain lasts more than 3 months, then it’s considered chronic pain.

Both of these pain types can range from mild to extreme and can be manifested as mild as a dull ache and as sharp as stabbing. In such situations, understanding and treating the pain is needed, and the easiest way for this to be done is with pain medications. Although some of these kinds of pain can be treated with acupuncture, pain medications and natural remedies like essential oils have proven as the most successful.

Pain Medications

As the name implies, pain medications are drugs used for treating the pain and relieving the symptoms of discomfort which is usually caused by an injury, disease or surgery. Given the fact that there are different types of pain triggered by different things, it’s understandable that pain medications can differ from one another. Generally speaking, pain medications can be divided into two categories, prescription and nonprescription drugs.

Prescription Drugs for Pain

The prescription pain medication list is large and includes lots of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) which are more potent than over-the-counter drugs and some opioids. This category of pain drugs can also contain some unconventional analgesics which at first weren’t developed as pain-relievers, but were found as quite effective in treating certain conditions. Such medications are some anti-depressants and some anti-seizure drugs.

The reason why prescription pain relievers are so popular and useful in treating chronic pain is that there is no dosage limit. The one thing to be kept in mind is that higher doses of opioids can be associated with unpleasant and in some cases, dangerous side effects.

What Is the Strongest Prescription Pain Medication?

It goes without saying that one of the strongest prescribed pain medications or pain medications, in general, are opioid analgesics. Morphine is one of the strongest pain-relieving drugs while codeine is at the bottom of that list. What you need to know is that opioids like hydromorphone and oxymorphone are more powerful than morphine, but the strongest of them all is fentanyl, especially if used in its intravenous form.

Nonprescription Drugs for Pain

These drugs are known as mild anti-inflammatory drugs or over-the-counter drugs and some of the most popular are ibuprofen, naproxen and acetaminophen. They are not as potent as prescription drugs and are mainly designed for short-term acute pain like tension headaches, menstrual cramps, toothache, minor sprains etc. And since there’s an exception to every rule, you should know that acetaminophen can also be used for treating pains related to arthritis. Unlike prescription drugs for pain, nonprescription drugs have a ceiling effect which means that continuous and increased dosage won’t provide additional or more profound pain relief.

Essential Oils

Dealing with acute pain can also be treated with alternative medicine or integrative therapy like aromatherapy. In fact, it’s believed that some essential oils can help people to get rid of almost any kind of acute pain that couldn’t be treated with pain medications.

Essential oils are highly fragrant oils that are usually obtained from the plants’ stems, roots and petals through steam distillation. When naturally obtained, essential oils used through aromatherapy can improve the body, mind and soul, and can relieve you from any kind of pain you might be experiencing. To reap the most benefits, you should pick pure essential oils and not mix them with fragrance oils as they are two completely different things.

When shopping for essential oils online stores happen to be an excellent and convenient way for shopping. Whether looking for individual or blends of essential oils online, there are some of them that can help you treat the symptoms of any pain and inflammation. Some of the most potent and pain-relieving essential oils are lavender, bergamot and rose oil.

Studies on lavender oil have shown that it can be used as an effective analgesic and anti-inflammatory medication. It can also relieve the symptoms of migraines and some other types of acute pains. Lavender oil can be used topically when diluted with a carrier oil (coconut, almond, jojoba oil), in an aromatherapy diffuser and through inhalation. Bergamot essential oil has also proven to be great in treating neuropathic pain that is resistant to any opioid medications.

Rose oil, on the other hand, has been quite effective in treating abdominal cramps, especially women menstrual abdominal cramps. This essential oil may also be effective in relieving pain caused by kidney stones especially if paired with conventional therapy.