Aches and pains become all the more common as we age. Our joints hurt due to years of wear and tear as well as possible arthritis or other joint inflammation. Regardless of what experts say, when the weather gets wet or very humid, those joints ache even more.

As we age, our muscles aren’t what the used to be and it doesn’t take as much to over tax or strain a muscle or two. We also develop other conditions that bring their individual aches and pains.

So, what do most of us do for those aches or pains?

Many of us turn to over the counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen in some form or another. There are a variety of brand names and generic makers.

Many of us have heard or read of some of the warnings about the possible dangers of taking acetaminophen as it’s been reported that long term use can cause kidney or live damage. I’ve seen many reports warning about giving pets, especially cats, acetaminophen as it can cause fatal kidney problems for them and thus pet owners tend to shy away from using it themselves.

Consequently, many of us turn to some form of ibuprofen, which we have been led to believe is much safer than acetaminophen.

Some years ago, I turned to ibuprofen for two reasons – the negative reports I read about acetaminophen and that ibuprofen is a better anti-inflammatory which often helps with inflamed joints and muscles.

However, a new report indicates that ibuprofen also has its dangers:

“According to a study, ‘ibuprofen is associated with increased blood pressure and hypertension’ compared to celecoxib given to patients who had osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.”

“The results from the PRECISION-ABPM (Prospective Randomized Evaluation of Celecoxib Integrated Safety versus Ibuprofen or Naproxen Ambulatory Blood Pressure Measurement) study revealed that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – both non-selective and selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors – are some of the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide.”

“However, they are linked with increased blood pressure and adverse cardiovascular effects. At least 19 percent of the U.S. population use at least one NSAID on a regular basis; this includes 30 million Americans with osteoarthritis, more than 40 percent of whom also have hypertension. PRECISION-ABPM aims ‘to determine the blood pressure effects of the selective COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib compared to the non-selective NSAIDs naproxen and ibuprofen.’ (Related: Ibuprofen and Other NSAIDs Kill 2,500 a Year in the UK.)”

This reminds me of something a friend told me a few years back. He said that if you listen to every study out there, our air can kill you, the water can kill you, most of what you eat and drink can kill you, stairs in your home can kill you, driving in your car can kill you and so on. Basically, everything around us has the potential to be harmful and kill us. Life itself will eventually kill you one way or another.

It becomes a matter of which danger we decide to embrace and which ones we avoid.

Should you stop taking ibuprofen if you have high blood pressure or hypertension? The study didn’t say that, only that people need to be warned. I have high blood pressure that is regulated with medication, diet and exercise and I’ve never noticed an increase in my blood pressure when I’ve taken ibuprofen for an inflammation, but that’s me and it may be different for you.