For an Alternative Treatment Try Capsaicin Cream

Tired of always being told that you need to take prescribed medications to deal with your back pain? Don’t want to take one more over the counter pain reliever or anti-inflammatory? Sounds like you might be reading to try a little alternative medicine. While there are many alternatives out there to try here’s one possibility that might be useful in treating your aching back. Capsaicin cream is gaining a reputation for helping back pain.

Capsaicin is the main ingredient found in chili peppers. Oddly, when this substance is put on the skin it seems to diminish something called substance P, which is a chemical in the body that sends pain messages. Since it blocks these messages is gives pain relief. But it does work a little oddly since if you try this cream you may notice a slight increase in your pain for the first few days before the pain starts to diminish. Nonetheless in studies this cream was shown to diminish back pain in forty six percent of users by at least fifty percent. Once the pain begins to lessen you’ll notice that it improves daily.

It can be purchased without prescription in a variety of outlets including health food stores, drug stores and through many websites online. You can expect to spend ten to twenty five dollars on it depending on if you purchase a tube or jar of the cream.

It can be used up to four times daily without a problem. Sometimes a person may feel a burning or stinging feeling when it is applied. It is suggested that the user wears disposable gloves when applying this cream. You will want to avoid getting this accidentally in your eyes or in any open cut on your skin. Be sure to wash your hands after using this cream, especially if you aren’t able to purchase any disposable gloves. The first time you use it put just a tiny bit on to make sure you do not have an allergic reaction to it.

This is only the modern use of the pepper derivative. The ancient herbalists were prescribing that red peppers be administered into the skin centuries ago. As red peppers also contain capsaicin, once again it goes to show that medicines of old were way ahead of us.

Although, as an alternative medication, this cream shows good prospects the side effects must be considered too. Some people do experience rashes, and more burning then they should. In these cases the use capsaicin cream should be stopped immediately. Be careful though that you do not try to substitute eating it for using it in cream form. Capsaicin is very strong and trying to ingest enough chili peppers to have an effect is more likely to give you stomach and intestinal aches and pains then any benefits for your back pain. So, if you’ve found that capsaicin cream is not the right treatment for you remember that there are still many alternative treatments out there waiting for a cautious try.

About the Author:
Mike Serovey is the owner and webmaster for http://www.mikeserovey.net where you can submit your articles for free.