Pain pills, also called analgesics, are a group of medical drugs that are used primarily to relieve pain. The word "analgesic" actually stems from the Greek components "an" (which means "without) and "algos" (pain). The central, as well as peripheral, nervous systems are primarily acted on by pain pills. In determining which kind of pain pill is appropriate for a given situation, other medication and the severity of your reaction to it is what is the determining factor. Depending on what type of pain you have, you will also get different types of pain pills. For instance, in the case of neuropathic pain, traditional pain pills are not effective, so you will have to rely on types of drugs that are not traditionally considered pain pills.

While pain pills are clearly effective and even necessary after major surgery or while you are healing from an injury, if the prescription is too high for you or if you abuse the pain pills by taking excessive quantities of them, then you are in for trouble. Initially, the most basic negative effects of pain pills don't seem to be that serious, though they will discomfit you.

An example of the most common types of negative effects from pain pills taken wrongfully is the inducement of sleep beyond how long you normally sleep, dizziness, headaches, burning sensations in your eye, and even the same type of disorientation that is common among people who abuse drugs recreationally. Still, pain pills are common prescriptions for people who are suffering from broken limbs, tendonitis or even the effects of a pulled tooth.

An actual addiction to pain pills is the severest form of pain pills negatively affecting your body. Drug dependency is another catch-all term for this problem of addiction, and it occurs when you know of a pain pill's negative effects on your body, yet you feel that you still need to use this form of drug. One reason that pain pills are commonly abused is because of their low cost, especially in comparison with the more expensive, illegal drugs like cocaine (coupled with the fact that they are so ubiquitous).

Most people have pain pills just lying around in their medicine cabinet or in other places, where they are easily accessed. The worst part of a drug addiction is the withdrawal process when you initially stop, but before you can finally end your dependency, you feel worse and worse, which may lead you to the drug all over again.

Different types of pain pills give you different negative effects. For instance, steroids may cause you sleeping issues, hypertension, indigestion and a higher susceptibility to infection. Anti-inflammatory pain pills, in contrast, can lead to the irritation of your digestive tract as well as a heightened danger of getting kidney problems and stomach ulcers. Antidepressants can lead to wild mood changes as well as appetite problems.