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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS