The History of Pain Pills

Throughout history, mankind has worked to find ways to relieve pain. From chewing on willow bark to modern pharmaceuticals, the history of pain pills is long and filled with many technological advances. Many naturally-based medicines are available today, as well as more modern painkillers that are completely man-made.

Aspirin

• Willow bark has been used to relieve pain for millennia. Powder willow bark was known to the ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates. The active ingredient in willow bark is salicin. A related compound, known as sodium salicylate, was modified in 1897 by German chemist, Felix Hoffman to create the compound that comprises modern aspirin, acetylsalicylic acid.

Paracetamol/Acetaminophen

• The words acetaminophen and paracetamol are both used to describe the pain-relieving compound para-acetylaminophenol, sold under the brand name Tylenol. Paracetamol was first marketed in the United States in the early 1950s by Sterling-Winthrop Co. Tylenol came to market in 1955, and was first sold under the moniker Tylenol Children's Elixir.
  Para-acetylaminophenol is a descendant of a drug known as acetanilide, also known as Antifebrin. The drug was introduced by A. Cahn and P. Hepp in 1886. However, the compound had toxic side effects, and over the ensuing decades improvements were made. In a 1948, various scientific papers argued that paracetamol was a highly effective painkiller.

Ibuprofen

• The pain reliever ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), and is marketed in the U.S. under the names Advil and Motrin. Ibuprofen was derived from propionic acid. The compound was developed by researchers with the Boots Group during the 1960s. The drug was first used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. It was released in the United Kingdom, and was released in 1969. The drug was released in the U.S. in 1974.

Naproxen Sodium

• The pain reliever Aleve contains naproxen sodium. Naproxen sodium is a pain reliever that was first sold in the late 1970s as a prescription drug called Naprosyn. In much of the world, this pain reliever is only available by prescription. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the drug for over-the-counter sales in 1994.

Opiates/Opiods

• Opiod drugs include methadone and oxycodone. Opium has been used since the time of the ancient Sumerians, and was used during the Renaissance by Paracelsus as a painkiller. The opium-derivative morphine was discovered in 1843 by Dr. Alexander Wood. Heroin debuted in 1874, and was sold by the Bayer company decades later. Methadone was developed by the Germans in the 1930s.

NSAIDS

• NSAIDS were developed by researchers in the 1960s. The first compound discovered was indomethacin. Following this discovery, the medications known as Celebrex and Vioxx were realeased in the late 1990s.