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Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

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Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#411

Post by cleansingfire »

lapcat wrote: post #298
vixen99 wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Especially if a new one, pain is undoubtedly a 'warning signal from the body' which is a succinct metaphor we all understand and has a clear meaning. If you don't know why or from whence the pain, check it out. It may be one of those things or perhaps not.

The previous commenter appears to argue that you need to diagnose every headache, which sounds absurd to me. Occasionally I have a headache. Not frequently, and I don't necessarily know why. These things just happen. I take a painkiller, and problem solved. I've been seen by doctors over the years for physicals or other reasons, and there's no indication of any underlying medical condition. An occasional headache is…

Yup. Try to treat the source of the pain. Of course. But dont act morally superior because you don't need acetaminophen.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#412

Post by tssva »

vanderZwan wrote: post #281
spzb wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AIUI one of the many quirks of the US health insurance system is that a lot of people have only minimal cover which doesn't include things like physiotherapy and rehabilitation treatment. That means that they often can't treat a painful condition at source so their only option is to mask the pain with painkillers.

This is so absurd to me. The expression "prevention is better than cure" isn't just folk wisdom, in just about any country with nationalized healthcare the studies also confirm that this costs less money. The only exception I ever heard was a Dutch study in the 2000s suggesting that people growing older due to smoking less was going to increase healthcare costs, because people were getting older putting pressure on t…

Nationalized healthcare systems can reap the longterm savings from preventive care. I have had 4 different for profit insurance companies over the last 5 years because of job changes, my employer switching insurance providers and retirement. Such frequent changing of health insurance providers means that there is no guarantee that any insurance company will reap the benefit of providing me with better preventative care than required by law.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#413

Post by marcosdumay »

lapcat wrote: post #298
vixen99 wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Especially if a new one, pain is undoubtedly a 'warning signal from the body' which is a succinct metaphor we all understand and has a clear meaning. If you don't know why or from whence the pain, check it out. It may be one of those things or perhaps not.

The previous commenter appears to argue that you need to diagnose every headache, which sounds absurd to me. Occasionally I have a headache. Not frequently, and I don't necessarily know why. These things just happen. I take a painkiller, and problem solved. I've been seen by doctors over the years for physicals or other reasons, and there's no indication of any underlying medical condition. An occasional headache is…

Unless you have migraines, that headache is caused by something and you'll be much better taking an anti-allergic, or a sinus cleaner, or whatever else actually solves the underlying issue or make the specific symptom go away.

The same goes for muscle aches. There is also specific medicine for them. And you are probably better with an anti-inflammatory for a bump. (It's not normal for cuts to hurt for a long time.)

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#414

Post by amalcon »

dncornholio wrote: post #283
apatheticonion wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? I get headaches semi-frequently and my first line of defense is ibuprofen, I use acetaminophen sporadically as a last resort

Why? Does ibuprofen work better? It's bad for your stomach walls.

For inflammatory pain (most headaches, most pain from injuries), ibuprofen absolutely works better. For migraines, neither works at all on its own -- though ibuprofen plus caffeine (I generally drink tea) does a little. For overexertion aches and cramps, or fevers, I think either is generally fine.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#415

Post by conductr »

SirMaster wrote: post #408

I always use acetaminophen as ibuprofen doesn't seem to do anything for me... I have personally never found a use for ibuprofen that ever made any noticeable impact for me. I have tried it for headaches, fever, muscle pain, nerve pain, etc. It never made a noticeable improvement for any of these while acetaminophen works amazingly for all these. Acetaminophen even works better for me for pain than an opioid like Tram…

Ibuprofen works for me about the same as acetaminophen but it tears my stomach up. If I use it for more than a two or three days at labeled usage rates, I’ll feel like I have an ulcer.

The article mentions this but it’s my answer to “how are laymen supposed to know?” In my case it’s painfully obvious to use ibuprofen with caution

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#416

Post by Insanity »

zajio1am wrote: post #376
Insanity wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Might just be an artifact of the broken healthcare system. Painkillers are cheap and over the-counter. Going to a doctor is not. Additionally, in EU you can just take a sick day to rest and recover pretty much any time you need it. In the US you have limited “sick days”. E.g I now only have 6 “sick days” per year.. (and I’m fortunate to work in tech, I just WFH when I’m under the weather. But people who are less well…

Here in EU, in order to take official sick days, i would have visit doctor to get confirmation document. Which means that for simple cases i would rather take unofficial sick days (sometimes provided by employer, like in US) or just leave.

Yeah but getting that confirmation document is low effort. And at least in Belgium the doctor visit would cost just like $25 (from memory, haven't lived there for quite some time).

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#417

Post by KacharKhan »

Doc here.

One thing every single member of the general public needs to get drilled into them: Medical science is NOT intuitive. You cannot just read the mechanism of action of a drug and infer a dozen things from it. A drug's mechanism of action, its indication (when it ought to be used) and its adverse effects CANNOT simply be inferred logically from each other. Biology is orders of magnitude more complex than SE/CS or any other field for that matter.

I presume majority of readers here have SE/CS background. Dudes! the artifacts and systems in SE/CS have the following two properties:

1. They are human artifacts. We know exactly how they are build. The theory is all publicly accessible in principle.

2. They are layered logically on top of each other. Machine code, assembly, C, Java ... so on. Firmware, OS, drivers, apps .. etc. Clean layering.

The above two core properties make it possible to more or less reliably reason about bit SE/CS systems from first principles. The complete absence of above two in medicine means you cannot do the same there. Be very very careful when you import thinking habits for daily life , or other fields of expertise, into medicine.

"This video is just for informational purposes. Consult your health care provider for your particular situation" ...is not just a legal precaution. It is a sound life advice. Nothing in life is more crucial to leave it to the experts as health/medical inference and decision making.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#418

Post by larrik »

This article was eye opening.

I'll admit I find ibuprofen to be a bit of a wonder drug. When I have a cold or flu, ibuprofen by itself is the most impactful medicine I take. The anti-inflammatory effects make my whole body better, including my sinuses (my sinuses are a disaster normally anyway, though). I do avoid taking it otherwise because my headache doctor says it causes rebound headaches, though.

But if I need to go out somewhere and am not feeling well? 2 advil and I'm good to go. The only medicine I've found more effective for that is (real) sudafed, but if I take that after like 10am I won't sleep that night.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#419

Post by SirMaster »

amalcon wrote: post #414
dncornholio wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Does ibuprofen work better? It's bad for your stomach walls.

For inflammatory pain (most headaches, most pain from injuries), ibuprofen absolutely works better. For migraines, neither works at all on its own -- though ibuprofen plus caffeine (I generally drink tea) does a little. For overexertion aches and cramps, or fevers, I think either is generally fine.

>For inflammatory pain (most headaches, most pain from injuries), ibuprofen absolutely works better.

Unfortunately, for me ibuprofen doesn't seme to help at all with any of these. Like I understand that my pain are often inflammatory based, and i try ibuprofen, but the pain doesn't dull at all even if I take 800mg etc...

I take 1000mg acetaminophen and boom my pain is vastly reduced...

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#420

Post by two_cents »

internet_points wrote: post #276
vanderZwan wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like this is one of those things where Europe and the US are very different, culturally speaking - I've lived in the Netherlands, Germany and now Sweden, and the amount of painkillers used and prescribed here seems much lower than what Americans tell me is normal in the US. Pain a warning signal from the body. It's something one should listen to, not just try to ignore and overrule. If I sprain my ankle it onl…

> home-made oral rehydration solution water? EDIT: I see it's a thing. Salt, water and sugar.

Or any other solution with electrolytes (Gatorade, DripDrop) etc
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