Half of Australians don't know what's in their pain medicines
Health professionals need to spend more time talking to patients about active ingredients, following new research by NPS that shows consumers are largely confused about what’s in many common over-the-counter pain relief medicines.
Of the 502 respondents who had taken an over-the-counter or prescription medicine in the past three months, 80% said they had taken an over-the-counter analgesic.
When respondents were asked to name the active ingredient in the analgesic they had taken, there was notable confusion. For those who had taken Nurofen, only 43% of respondents correctly named ibuprofen as the active ingredient. Nearly two-in-five (39%) incorrectly stated paracetamol and a further 9% said Panadol was the active ingredient.
Results were slightly higher for those who had taken Panadol, with 61% of respondents correctly naming paracetamol as the active ingredient. Incorrect responses given by 22% included aspirin or ibuprofen or the brand name Panadol. Just under half of respondents correctly named paracetamol as the active ingredient in Panamax, which is available on the PBS and commonly prescribed.
Encouragingly, 80% of respondents correctly named paracetamol and codeine as the active ingredients in the combination pain relief medicine Panadeine.
NPS clinical adviser Dr Danielle Stowasser said knowing the active ingredient in medicines was an important step to being medicinewise and would help people avoid making mistakes.
“There are around 350 different pain relief medicines available over-the-counter in Australia, marketed under a variety of names, branding and packaging. Having so many choices can be confusing for people, especially when they are available for purchase outside of pharmacies where no professional advice may be provided at the point of sale.”
“Sometimes people accidentally take a double dose without even realising it, such as taking cold and flu tablets and Lemsip at the same time, which contain the same active ingredients,” Dr Stowasser said.
“Doctors, pharmacists and pharmacy staff need to spend time educating patients about reading labels and understanding what’s in their medicines to help prevent mishaps. Its not enough to simply say a product is safe for them to take.”
The NPS ‘Be medicinewise – Managing Pain’ campaign kicks off this week, with a variety of tools, information and tips to help Australians manage their pain safely and effectively.
For further information, visit www.nps.org.au/managingpain <http://www.nps.org.au/managingpain>