Is it dangerous to take painkillers if you dont need them?

Just back from my cousins house- she had her dinner and then popped two headache pills. I asked if she had a headache and she said no , she explained she takes painkillers every day cos it makes sure you dont get a headache/period pain etc.

She says she takes two after lunch and thats it

But isint it dangerous to take painkillers if you dont need them

Depending on the type of pain killer she is using, long term usage can cause kidney damage, stomach problems and liver damage.

Unless there is a special reason to take a pain killer long term (like aspirin for heart disease), it is not a good idea.

Yes it is because it will damage your Kidneys.

it's what they called "drug abuse"

it's only dangerous if you take too many. i'm not positive if it's harmful or not or if it really prevents it but if you don't O.D. then i guess it's ok.

It's dangerous to take any drug. Any drug can produce a negative reaction. Drugs shoud only be taken under the close supervision of a physician.

The dangers are two fold --- the longer she persists in this behavior the more resistant her system will become to the effects of the painkillers and if she truly needed them for real pain would find them ineffective, also she runs the very real risk of becoming addicteed or dependent if she is not all ready. Given that psychogically she has given herself permission for this I would say she all ready has a big problem. (My sister's name is Lolly and I rarely see or hear it----love that name)

Yes, it is harmful to your liver when it is taken long term. Your cousin may have ben misguided.

Yes it is. They are harsh on your stomach. It is ok to take a baby asprin for some ppl, as is associated with heart attacks. But you should never take tylenol on a daily basis. I had an acquantance in high school who was in pain and she had went to the em. room, they didn't believe her and thought she was just trying to get pain pills, she was really in pain and was taking more than needed tylenol, she ended up taking too many for the pain, She was found dead two days later, an OD from tylenol...Just accidental. She had severe kidney damage and a whole lot of other problems from the tylenol...it killed her.

I know your friend isn't in pain, but I'm just pointing out the risks involved...Only take them when needed.

It depends!! If you have taken them without experiencing any pain try hitting your head off a wall, If it doesn't hurt then u can justify taking them before you hit your head off a wall

it depends on the type of pain pills she is taking.
If it is one of the powerful pain killers ex. Perceset Vikadin or anything with codien in it, then yes it is very dangerous. If it is asprin then not very dangerous unles she is a hemophiliac, doctors perscribe asprin all the time for people that are at high risk for heart attacks because it thins your blood. If it is simple ibprofin then two a day is not dangerous even though i dont know why she would take ibprofin because it does not prevent pain from comming it only eases pain you all ready have.

It is very bad both for your liver and heart to do this every day.
Your body will also build up a olerance for them and when you really require them becaus of pain they will not work. If your cousionis using more then otc meds like perks or hard core pain killers she is addicted to them plain and simple.