My husband took norco (hydrocodone and acetaminophen) to help his pleurisy discomfort and it helped a great deal. is a narcotic good to manage his pain?

Last resort: Pleurisy can often be managed with anti-inflammatory medication. Narcotic pain meds should be reserved for very short term use in this situation. Dependency can develop and lead to habitual use and ultimately addiction . These medications should be monitored carefully and only used exactly as directed . This is especially true with short term pain.

Opioids OK for some: pleurisy can be very painful (7+/10) and an opioid like hydrocodone (in Narco) can be very helpful for short term use. Work with your prescribing practitioner to ensure your use does not become unwanted dependence.

Nonsteroidals: Pleurisy is an inflammation in the lining of the lung. An anti inflammatory such as Naproxen or Ibuprofen should be helpful. Although, a narcotic can help pain it does not have any anti-inflammatory properties. Also, narcotics are highly addictive and have sedating effects. Unless your husband has a problem with gastritis or ulcer disease a non-steroidal should be safe and effective.

It depends: Pleurisy discomfort can be quite debilitating. If other drugs such as Tylenol, Advil (ibuprofen) were not helpful then a different class of medication may be indicated. Norco is acetaminophen and hyrocodone which is the narcotic portion of the drug. It is best to start tapering once the pain starts to remit.