Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) didn’t want to take opioids after painful dental surgery. So she took Motrin. A lot of it. All that Motrin led to emergency surgery last week for a perforated ulcer. According to a story from The Washington Post, “there’s a real education gap” among members of the public about the potentially serious side effects of these medications. “Just because something’s available over the counter doesn’t mean it’s safe to be used by everyone for any amount of time,” the director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital said. Experts explain why Dingell’s experience should serve as a cautionary tale.
NCPA
