Are we too dependant on medicin today? Yes.

[Rainbird]

Scoobes said:

Rainbird said:

It's the same situation that I described above. If something in your life is causing you to get these headaches, then a painkiller is nothing then something that allows you to ignore what's wrong.

Taking a painkiller because you can't fix things at the moment is fine, but taking pills is not the solution, and that's what I'm talking about. We need to look at what is causing the pain in our daily lives and deal with that, rather than just trying to make the pain stop for a moment. If you're feeling pain, your body is telling you that something is wrong.

Humans have been taking pain-numbing chemicals for years though. They just weren't in tablet form. I don't think in the case of pain killers we're really over medicating ourselves that much more than in the past even with the hectic life-styles. At least now we have definitive numbers and concentrations for how much we should be taking.

Also, it's worth remembering that a lot of these pain-killers have secondary benefits as well as side-effects. Aspirin is commonly used for people suffering from heart disease, Ibroprofen has additional benefits in reducing swelling and paracetamol can help prevent kidney failure in specific circumstances.

Regardless of past actions, I think too many people try to "solve" their problems with pills rather than trying to get to the bottom of things and improving their lives in a better fashion.

And as I said in the OP, medicine is not bad. There are just too many people using it the wrong way.