Pill popping

I think we are becoming a society that classes taking over the counter pills as normal as walking to the shop. I've heard friends of mine discuss the best tablets for biting their hangovers in the butt because their bodies have already built up an immunity to the "normal" panadols and paracetamols. I watch as customers come into the shop I work at in the early morning and grab a coffee and a packet of tablets. I hear how girls must have their drug fix when it's that time of the month, and know that others take two when they feel a little weird. People even down them while drinking alcoholic beverages.

When did it suddenly become okay for us to take this laxidazical approach to medication? Is it because it is so easily available? Yet in my workplace customers are not allowed to buy two products containing paracetamol on the same transaction. This must mean that there are bigger consequences to knocking tablets back like sweets.

What I want to know is, why are people taking the easy route to sort out their niggling problems? Let's face it, a headache may mean a lot of different things such as too much alcohol the night before, loud music, dehydration, tension, or lack of sleep. To avoid having to take tablets shouldn't the problems be sorted out before they occur? I like to drink water throughout the night when I'm drinking alcohol and I make sure to top up when I get home and in the morning. If I'm feeling tense I realise it could be from clenching my jaw so I try and relax and even give myself a mini face massage. I've found a warm bath can help quench those monthly pains, and if that's not available then a heat pad would do.

It's simple things that can help you restrain from reaching for the medicine cabinet every time you feel a headache coming on. We need to bust the tablet taking!