Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug

Okay kiddo, do you know what pain feels like? It's like when you fall and hit your knee, it hurts right? Now, sometimes when we have pain, it's because there's something wrong with our bodies. Maybe we have an injury or there's inflammation (which means that some part of our body is swollen and red because our immune system is fighting off germs).

Now, there are some medicines that we can take to help with the pain and inflammation, and those are called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These drugs work by blocking something called cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX enzymes). When we're hurt or inflamed, our bodies make something called prostaglandins using these COX enzymes. Prostaglandins tell our brains that something hurts and should be taken care of.

So when we take NSAIDs, they stop the COX enzymes from making the prostaglandins so we feel less pain and inflammation. Some examples of NSAIDs are ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen (Aleve). However, it's important to remember that taking too much of these drugs or taking them for a long time can hurt our stomachs or kidneys, so we should always talk to a grown-up (like a doctor) before taking any medicine.