Analgesics

Analgesics are medications which can be prescribed and there are a few which are available just over the counter to buy from the pharmacy. An analgesic is a medication or a pharmaceutical product which reduces or can completely numb the nervous system so we do not feel the pain of a procedure. Now, this could be as aggressive as an operation which is performed by a surgeon, or as small as an injection which a child might have in preschool, or a procedure which you might have in a beauty salon. So we will use an analgesic to numb the pain so we do not feel it, so we're much more comfortable. There are different types of analgesics. Obviously, within a hospital environment, we would call a general anaesthetic which completely puts you to sleep and therefore, you wouldn't feel or be aware of anything. And then there are local anaesthetics which can be done through a lumbar puncture, through the spine, during childbirth, or during controlled operations, which may be in the lower limb, upper limb or various sections of the body. And then there are finally topical anaesthetics which are more used in the beauty industry. These are applied directly onto the skin for procedures which are not deeply invasive but are invasive and therefore, you may require to control the pain that one may suffer from that.