Don’t Trust This Reckless Study Stating Alcohol Is Better Pain Reliever Than Tylenol

Warning: just because science says something is okay doesn’t mean you should always try it.

A new study out of Greenwich University in the U.K. concluded that drinking enough to get your blood alcohol content up to .08% (the legal limit in California) led to a strong increase in pain tolerance and significant reductions in perceived pain by up to 25 percent.

The meta-analysis study, which was published in the Journal of Pain, looked at 18 already published studies on the relationship between pain and alcohol that surveyed over 400 people to obtain these results. The study also found that every beer or shot you drink does slightly increase your ability to take pain and decrease any you might be feeling already.

In an interview with Tucson News Now, study author Trevor Thompson even stated that alcohol was a better painkiller than generic Tylenol.

“It can be compared to opioid drugs such as codeine and the effect is more powerful than paracetamol (generic Tylenol).”

There’s an obvious dark side to this study apart from the fact that it’s recommending you to get legally drunk to get rid of a significant amount of pain. The study admits that the analgesic effects of booze could explain why many people in chronic pain heavily misuse alcohol and endanger their personal health in other ways. The authors even admit that those who use alcohol to kill pain and try to withdraw will experience even more pain than they initially would have.

Studies like these present a danger to the public, unfortunately. While they try to explain certain psychological and medical relationships, several articles from media present it in a way that would encourage the public to drink away their pain.

Don’t do that. It’s not safe, unhealthy, and dangerous to you and those around you.

We shouldn’t be relying on alcohol for pain relief anyway. Back sore? Slap on some Icy Hot. Pulled a hammie? Stretch it out.

Yes, alcohol may be good for pain relief, but you should always drink responsibly. Alcoholism is a dark path to go down, and studies like these can inspire some people to start on that journey.

To those of you that read articles about this study on other sites, take the findings with a grain of salt the size of The Rock’s cajones.