Live data from Hacker News

Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

asteriskmag.com

371–380 of 504 posts

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#371
post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh right - that's probably what we did, buy a big pack from behind the counter. I don't think you can even do that in the UK. Yeah we usually have a few packs hanging around, and I get the 'it seems stupid' thing, but sometimes just adding a tiny bit of friction when someone's trying to kill themselves might save a life. I dunno, I hope that's shown in the evidence anyway. Otherwise it's just pointless like the whole…

> Oh right - that's probably what we did, buy a big pack from behind the counter. No, when you visited they were still on the shelf. They only put them behind the counter in 2025. > sometimes just adding a tiny bit of friction when someone's trying to kill themselves might save a life I'm philosophically not for making suicide harder. If someone wants to die, that's their right. And practically, while you might be ab…

[deleted]

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve pretty much only ever seen them sold at 500mg; are you regularly seeing them where you are sold in 1g form?

The .nl indicates the netherlands. Many people in the netherlands vent/joke about how the doctors here only ever tell you to take paracetamol and come back in two weeks if it's still a problem (recursive solution). However the last time I went to my GP she scoffed at me taking the maximum and suggested I take literally double the maximum recommended dose 4-5 times a day which totaled I think 2.5x the daily maximum on…

My understanding is double the max dose of paracetamol is the LD50. Seems crazy for your GP to advocate for that. Published recommended dose is assuming average weight, so maybe if you're a very large person, the advice makes some sense, but wow.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#373
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. Great article. I avoid both and stick with naproxen sodium. Any issues with that one? Lasts the longest too.

None of us are your doctors but Naproxen has well-known gastric issues up to ulcers and stomach bleeding which is why it's advised to be taken with food and why it's also often prescribed with a PPI or H2 Antagonist. Cox-2 selectives such as Celecoxib greatly reduce this risk but seem to be associated with some small cardiovascular risk (admittedly this is a feature of all NSAIDs though less so in Naproxen apparently…

Cardiovascular risk increase is not a feature of aspirin, the original NSAID. Aspirin lessens cardiovascular risk which is why we give it to patients in the initial stages of a heart attack: It decreases the likelihood of further clotting.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#374

> But if acetaminophen is safer, then why don’t official sources tell you that? Guess it depends on country. Here in Norway official sources[1][2] do say acetaminophen (paracetamol here) should be the default for treating fever and pain in kids, adults, pregnant women and elderly, and have for some time. Ibuprofen they say should be used with caution. [1]: https://www.dmp.no/nyheter/behov-for-smertestillende-slik-ve.…

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…

[dead]

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#376
post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the amount of painkillers used and prescribed here seems much lower than what Americans tell me is normal in the US. Americans' relationship with painkillers is absolutely unhinged.

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.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've taken so much Advil/Ibuprofen in my life it would be impossible to count at this point. I always got headaches when I was younger and it didn't really stop until I went to college at a higher altitude. When I go back to my hometown, after a couple of days they come back. Some headaches will go away on their own with water or rest, but others that seem to go from one side of my forehead all the way down the same…

Have you tried to have this diagnosed?

I have. Never really got anywhere.

Since none of them are actual migraines, most advice was the standard: drink more water, get enough sleep, are you stressed at work, etc.

I won't move back to my hometown because of it and it hasn't been as much of a problem. My grandmother said that I had a distant cousin who would get sick whenever he came to our hometown from Chicago as well. Said that his doctor thought it might have to do with the swampy air around the area. Pee Dee region of South Carolina, where Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion operated during the Revolutionary War.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#378

To the author, my guy, you are clearly not an endocrinologist stop pretending you are, and trust the people that study these things for a living. Not only you can't take more than 4 grams of paracetamol per day, you must not take it for more than 3 days straight, it says so on the leaflet. Biochemistry and medicine are hard and complex, all the quacks out there that preach snake oil treatments went down the path of t…

Is this comment in the wrong place? The article is literally about how the medical establishment gives good advice on acetaminophen and ibuprofen, but it's not getting through to people.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. Great article. I avoid both and stick with naproxen sodium. Any issues with that one? Lasts the longest too.

wait, how are you getting naproxen? Whenever its prescribed here, its paired with some sort of intestine protection medicine to stop it burning holes in your stomach/intenstines Ibuprofen is much safer, so long as you eat with it. Paracetamol is also safer, so long as you don't OD. BUT! so long as you stay below 4 grams a day, you'll be safe. (yes yes, in some situations you can take double, but unless you are under…

In the US, Aleve is the name-brand pill for naproxen, available in grocery stores next to everything else. I have a bottle of 160 gelcaps. Each pill is 220mg naproxen sodium or in parentheses 200 mg of naproxen. The advertised effect is 12 hours / all day, getting anywhere near 4g would only happen in a suicidal "swallow bottle of pills" situation.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#380

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…

Perdue Pharma/The Sacklers went on a huge campaign in the 90s convincing doctors and the general public that pain was bad and worth stopping at any cost and even though they were pushing opioids, I can imagine this also increased the cultural tendency to use NSAIDs as well.

Right, Purdue Pharma—the sleasebag Sacklers—were unethically pushing OxyContin (oxycodone) but the unethical tactics that Merck adopted in marketing its NSAID Vioxx seems to have been forgotten. Vioxx was withdrawn from the market and Merck paid out billions in law suits.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, the Vioxx scandal is every bit as big as the Purdue one. Check this Wiki (lawsuits): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rofecoxib

If you've time watch this YouTube video on Merck and the Vioxx scam (if you weren't aware of the facts you'd think you were in Palermo/Mafia territory): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K0GrFnOpJoU

Post reply on HN