Naproxen

Key facts

• Naproxen (Naprosyn) is an NSAID, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, used for pain, inflammation, and fever.
• Take it with food or milk to reduce stomach upset, and use the lowest dose that controls your symptoms for the shortest time you need.
• Its single most important safety fact: NSAIDs including naproxen increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and serious, sometimes fatal, stomach or intestinal bleeding, and this risk rises with higher doses and longer use.
• Seek urgent care for chest pain, sudden shortness of breath, vomiting blood, or black or bloody stools.

What Naproxen treats

Naproxen treats osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other joint inflammation, along with muscle strains, sprains, and menstrual cramps. It also relieves headache, dental pain, fever, gout flares, and the joint pain of ankylosing spondylitis.

How Naproxen works

Naproxen blocks cyclooxygenase enzymes that produce prostaglandins, the chemicals that trigger pain, inflammation, and fever. With less prostaglandin production, swelling eases and pain signals reduce. The same enzyme block also lowers the stomach's protective mucus and affects blood clotting, which explains naproxen's main risks.

Before you take it

• Avoid naproxen if you have had an allergic reaction, asthma attack, or hives after aspirin or another NSAID, or if you have active stomach or intestinal bleeding.
• Avoid it in the last trimester of pregnancy, since NSAIDs can affect fetal kidney function and the heart vessel that closes at birth.
• Tell your prescriber about heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or liver disease, or a prior ulcer, and about any blood thinners, other NSAIDs, corticosteroids, or SSRIs you take, since combining these raises bleeding risk.
• Do not combine naproxen with other NSAIDs, including over-the-counter ibuprofen.

Side effects

Common effects include stomach upset, heartburn, nausea, headache, and dizziness.

Stop and seek urgent medical care for any of these:

• Chest pain, sudden shortness of breath, or weakness on one side of the body.
• Vomiting blood or material that looks like coffee grounds, or black, tarry stools.
• Severe stomach pain.
• Swelling of the face, lips, or throat, or difficulty breathing.

Safety essentials

• The cardiovascular and gastrointestinal risks are naproxen's defining safety concern. Use the lowest effective dose for the shortest time, especially if you have heart disease or a history of ulcers.
• Do not take naproxen during the last trimester of pregnancy.
• Tell every prescriber and pharmacist that you take naproxen before starting a blood thinner, another NSAID, or a corticosteroid.

This page is educational and does not replace advice from a doctor or pharmacist who knows your health history.