Asking this as I have a horrible throat infection making it incredibly painful to swallow, and therefore difficult to eat and drink. I have to stay on top of my painkillers every four hours or the pain starts to come back, I’d just love to know how this actually works.
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So much depends on the details.
Some painkillers like Ibuprofen are NSAIDs, they both reduce some of the chemicals that are interpreted as pain, and also reduces inflammation that is another type of pain. Two methods of action, one of them improves how your body heals.
Acetaminophen / paracetamol / Tylonol has a similar but slightly different effect. It inhibits some of the chemicals that are interpreted as pain, and also triggers a mild numbing / analgesic effect in some nerves.
Because they are processed differently in the body, physicians often give both of them together. Both of these effects last a few hours until your kidneys or liver (depending on the type) filters the drug out a few hours later.
Opioids block the receptors. As others point out, when you’re used to them it means your body will learn to “scream louder”, so it can hurt worse once you’re off. These are very useful for certain types of pain, but they’re strongly addictive.
Certain numbing agents like lidocaine, benzocaine, and similar nerve blocking drugs. Many are injected directly, others are topical ointments or sprays. Unlike the others that are considered analgesic drugs, or “pain reducers”, these are considered anesthetic drugs, that eliminate sensation entirely. They’re useful for other types of issues like when you skin your knee or want a spray for a sore throat. They block the nerve’s reception of pain entirely but don’t resolve the underlying problem.
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