Half of the population experience pain at least once a week, with more than 90 percent being accustomed to enduring it, a pharmacists’ association survey found.
Taipei Pharmacists’ Association spokesperson Wang Ming-yuan (王明媛) on Tuesday said the survey was conducted through online questionnaires and phone interviews in June and July.
Participants were divided into three age groups of 18 to 34, 35 to 54 and 55 to 70, with each group evenly divided between men and women, Wang said.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jo, Taipei Times
Of the 1,099 respondents, 51.8 percent reported that they feel pain at least once a week, and more than 97.5 percent choose to bear pain when they feel it, the survey showed.
Wang said the survey results showed 35-to-54-year-olds are more sensitive to pain, whereas younger people are less likely to tell others about their pain.
The three most common types of reported pain were muscle aches, headaches and joint pain, Wang said.
Foreign studies have shown how chronic pain increasingly hurts more, making the central nervous system more sensitive, negatively affecting the respiratory system, and increasing the risk of cardiovascular complications, Wang said.
Delaying treatment is more likely to result in chronic pain, which might cause the pain to spread to other parts of the body, Wang added.
Surveys show young people often endure pain because of social pressure such as job progression, New Taipei City Pharmacists’ Association chairman Hsu Yu-shan (許有杉) said.
Middle-aged people with elderly parents and young children choose to endure pain, because they are worried about potential impacts to their financial situation.
Elderly people are more likely to view pain as part of aging, Hsu said.
Taipei Pharmacists’ Association chairman Yin Tai-chih (尹岱智) said there are many root causes for pain, and long working hours and high-pressure environments can aggravate these issues.
People should go to a hospital for major issues, clinics for minor illnesses, and pharmacies for minor symptoms, he said.
When mild symptoms appear, people should first ask a pharmacist for recommendations and take medication to relieve pain within an hour of onset, he said.
Then they should consult with a physician to find the root cause before the pain becomes a more challenging chronic issue, he said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
RSS