Reporting on topical antiinflammatories

[Guest guest]

Hi all, I've been really disappointed that I can't benefit from aspirin or aspirin related products (like ibuprofen, advil, naproxene, etc.) because it causes me tremendous stomach pain. So I've always wished I could find an effective NSAID that wouldn't trash my gut (other than Benicar) that would have the same anti-inflammatory, plus blood thinning properties. So I've been having some severe hip and leg problems recently, and it occurred to me that even if it was a desperate measure, it couldn't really hurt to try one of the topical aspirin type products. So my husband picked up both an Aspercreme type product and a Capsaicin product. I was surprised that the aspercreme seemed to help, so I did some research and it turns out there's at least one German study that shows that applied topically, it may be

much more effective than previously believed. Although concentrations are higher in the blood stream when taken orally, studies in dogs showed that applying the aspirin creme directly to the dogs' joints resulted in much higher concentrations of aspirin in the joints and ligaments than when taken orally. That's probably be a good thing, right? Anyway, surprisingly, it really seems to be helping me. And the instructions advise not to use more than 3 times a day, so that would also indicate there's evidence it's getting into your system. As for the capsaicin, I can't really say. I used it once, didn't notice anything, but in researching it on the net, I learned that it basically deadens the nerve endings (the pepper overstimulates them to the point of blocking out the pain signal). I didn't find anything about antiinflammatory properties, so I'm going to stick with the aspercreme for now. I don't

know whether I'll get the blood thinning properties, but I like the fact that I'm bypassing my gut, and that it's still very effective in relieving pain. Something others might want to consider, who can't take aspirin type products. penny

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