Expert: Dennis Leppanen - 6/4/2009

Question
Dear Dennis,

 Can you help me?  My boyfriend has back pain and no health insurance can you tell me if there are any herbal painkillers that will not interfere with his random drug tests at work.

Answer
Hi Terry,

Red pepper (capsicum), Red pepper contains a marvelous pain killer called capsaicin. that is so powerful that a tiny amount provides the active ingredient in some powerful commercial topical analgesics.

It has the ability to trigger the release of the body's own pain-reliving endorphins.

You can buy a commercial cream containing capsaicin and use that. Outside the U.S. people simply use red pepper that costs much less.
You can mash red pepper in with white skin cream and mix enough red pepper to make it pink.Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly afterward.

Test it on a small area to see if it will irritate the skin before applying to a larger area.

Willow (Salix) Aspirin was derived from this source.This has been used to relieve pain since 500 BC.

Peppermint has the compounds menthol and camphor in many over the counter medications.

Try to cut down on meats and eat more raw foods and vegetables.

Back pain can be chronic, make sure that your boyfriend knows the origin of his back proplems.

Best wishes,
Dennis