How Long Does Vicodin Stay In Your System

Definition of Pain

Pain describes an uncomfortable sensation. It could be acute or chronic, major or minor, sharp or dull, burning or numbing. In its mildest form, it can be a slight inconvenience, or entirely disabling at its extreme. Often, the intensity of this sensation is determined by both the injury site as well as how our brains decode the signals that come from the injury sites. Medications, in that sense, will either try to interrupt the signals transmitted from the area of the injury or simply trick the brain to represent that pain differently. There are a number of commercially available medicines for this purpose, namely Vicodin, lortab, OxyContin, etc. Broadly speaking, all pain drugs that could be found in the market could broadly be categorized under 2 categories:

• Hydrocodone (where Vicodin, lortab and Lorcet is a part of);
• Oxycodone (where perocet and OxyContin is grouped into)

Bear in mind that different medications work differently on different individuals and individual's threshold for pain could vary greatly. Therefore, for this reason, it is impossible to agree on a certain type of pain medication for everybody with the same injury. Just to illustrate that, in the case of an ankle sprain, certain individuals are happy with the relief provided by over-the-counter painkiller, while other folks may need a much stronger prescription to relieve the same injury. The bottom line is the type of medication required is more dependent on the person whom the pain is inflicted rather than the type of pain experienced.

Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (or simply NSAID)

Perhaps ibuprofen is arguably the most recognized brand among non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug for pain. There are at least 3 NSAIDs available for purchase:

1. Ibuprofen

• Advil
• Children's Advil
• Children's Motrin
• Excedrin IB
• Midol 200
• Motrin IB
• Nuprin
• Pamprin IB

2. Naproxen

• Aleve

3. Aspirin

• Anacin
• Bufferin
• Ascriptin
• Empirin
• Aspergum
• Ecotrin
• Bayer Low Adult Strength
• Bayer Buffered Aspirin
• Bayer Aspirin
• St Joseph Adult Chewable Aspirin

As a general guideline, both ibuprofen and aspirin tend to provide immediate and short-term relief, while naproxen is often associated with longer lasting impact. In simple terms, it means that more dosages of naproxen are expected before a user can tell the difference. So depending on the nature of your pain, and the type of relief you are hoping for, you can choose between ibuprofen (for more immediate relief) and naproxen (for longer lasting relief).

Followings are NSAID medications, which are only available with a prescription:

• etodolac (Lodine)
• diclofenac sodium (Voltaren, Voltaren-XR, Cataflam)
• fenoprofen (Nalfon)
• piroxicam (Feldene)
• flurbiprofen (Ansaid)
• sulindac (Clinoril)
• indomethacin (Indocin, Indocin-SR)
• mefenamic acid (Ponstel)
• tolmetin (Tolectin)
• ketoprofen (Oruvail)
• ketorolac (Toradol)
• meclofenamate (Meclomen)
• nabumetone (Relafen)
• oxaprozin (Daypro).

The above list represents some of the most marketed brands by drug companies. Medical research conducted so far unable to conclude that relatively more expensive medicines bring about more effective relief compared to those OTC drugs that generally cost less.

Sometimes drug companies target their products on certain market segments. For example, indomethacin (Indocin) is usually recommended by its manufacturer to treat gout. Again, it is difficult to prove that relationship, but researchers have collected enough evidence to suggest that different NSAIDs could have a selective effect on certain individuals.

How Long Does the Drugs Remain?

While pain medications provide welcome relief to both acute and chronicle pain sufferers, people are very concerned about the lingering effects of the chemicals inside the body even after the pain has gone away. People often ask about, ""How long does the hydrocodone stay in the system?"" To put it into perspective, hydrocodone is the generic name of Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet and some other medications.

Ultimately, all drugs in our system have to survive the metabolism process, which defers from one person to another. Therefore, there is no easy answer to that question but it is safe to assume that the drug could be cleared in matter of 3 to 5 days.