The most effective pain reliever that you have never heard of, but have most likely used.
What is it?
Capsaicin is an agent in hot peppers that gives them their spicy properties. It is also used topically as an anti-inflammatory that can be used for different types of pain.
What can it do?
Capsaicin has properties that promote blood flow, healing, and help with pain management. While capsaicin has many benefits, they are locked behind the fact that the agent doubles as an irritant, i.e. why eating a hot pepper is so entertaining to watch. Most topical treatments that use capsaicin have to limit the amount used to avoid the downsides.
What is it used for?
Capsaicin has been used in sparing quantities to reduce inflammation. This ranges from inflammation caused by a bruise, all the way to chronic inflammation caused by arthritis. Topically, capsaicin has also been found to relieve pain and inflammation associated with psoriasis.
Where else can you find Capsaicin?
This anti-inflammatory agent can be found in some other places besides the peppers themselves. Topical arthritis and pain-relieving gels use capsaicin, enough to help mask pain without causing a crazy amount of a burning sensation, this is a concentration between 0.025% and 0.075% (Capsaicin: Risks and Benefits)
There is one product that figured out how to completely separate the benefits of capsaicin from the side effects though, Capsiva. Capsiva uses a blend that has 6X that concentration, all while avoiding the burning sensation from the ingredient that is seen in other products. The graphic to the right shows how Capsiva has been able to unlock the true benefits of capsaicin.