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Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

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Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#391

Post by duzer65657 »

vanderZwan wrote: post #245
magicalhippo wrote: post #110

> 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…

This is talking about ibuprofen and acetaminophen, not prescription drugs. Also controlling inflamation and swelling is a very important part of an injury recovery plan; it's not all about Americans complaining about pain.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#392

Post by vanderZwan »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #339
vanderZwan wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's also healthier in the long run, no? Long-winding tangential anecdote (which is why I'm replying to myself in a separate comment), but I have pretty extreme example of this: I managed to avoid nearly all suffering after getting a tonsillectomy in my mid-thirties, while using almost no painkillers. My ENT surgeons warned that me "I'd hate him for about a month, then I'd love him for never having to deal with […

Maybe you took carprofen?

As the more potent diclophenac? Might have been what was prescribed, I genuinely can't recall. I do know I didn't take it though ;)

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#393

Post by vanderZwan »

wat10000 wrote: post #369
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…

If pain is a signal, then it's often a car alarm that won't shut up. Even if someone is actually trying to steal the car, I only need to be told once. Sometimes I get headaches. I don't know why. Maybe there's a cause. I do try things to fix the underlying problem. But it's not instant. While I wait for it, why should I continue to be in pain when the pain medicine is pretty much risk free if I'm not reckless with it…

I feel better avoiding the causes of making me grumpy, I end up feeling less tired at the end of the day.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#394

Post by amalcon »

wincy wrote: post #302
huhkerrf wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since we're talking about acetaminophen and ibuprofen, in France you're liable to end up with a medicine cabinet full of acetaminophen, because almost anytime you go to the doctor with any type of pain, they add it to the prescription.

Interesting, in the US they often do that too but I’ve personally never filled it because insurance doesn’t cover over the counter medications. So I’d have to pay cash for it.

You can sometimes get a prescription for a different form or different dosage than what's available OTC. These are most commonly administered in hospitals (and insurance will cover it there), when you're at home it's usually equal or cheaper to just buy the OTC version.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#395

Post by mattkrause »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #339
vanderZwan wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's also healthier in the long run, no? Long-winding tangential anecdote (which is why I'm replying to myself in a separate comment), but I have pretty extreme example of this: I managed to avoid nearly all suffering after getting a tonsillectomy in my mid-thirties, while using almost no painkillers. My ENT surgeons warned that me "I'd hate him for about a month, then I'd love him for never having to deal with […

Maybe you took carprofen?

I don't think carprofen has been sold for human use in ages! Still available as a veterinary medicine though.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#396

Post by themaninthedark »

trvz wrote: post #221
rustyhancock wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ibuprofen is better are reducing fever and managing headaches. Paracetamol is the safer version Phenacetin. You used to be able to buy aspirin, phenacetin and caffeine..but phenacetin with withdrawn. APC when it was marketed was very popular but soon you were told to never give children aspirin for a fever so we used Paracetamol. Then Phenacetin was withdrawn and paracetamol became part of APC (like Alka selzta XS ,…

Reminder: don't take medical advice from someone who can't write correctly.

Have you seen my doctor's handwriting?

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#397

Post by vanderZwan »

lapcat wrote: post #282
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…

> Pain a warning signal from the body. It's something one should listen to, not just try to ignore and overrule. This is vastly overstating the rationality of the human body. It's no more rational than the human mind, which is often quite irrational. Your body isn't the product of medical school, nor intelligent design, but rather random natural selection, which is decent but demonstrably far from perfect.

Sure, but how good are you at judging if a human mind is irrational or not without engaging in conversation with it? Why not extend that logic to your body.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#399

Post by lapcat »

vanderZwan wrote: post #397
lapcat wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Pain a warning signal from the body. It's something one should listen to, not just try to ignore and overrule. This is vastly overstating the rationality of the human body. It's no more rational than the human mind, which is often quite irrational. Your body isn't the product of medical school, nor intelligent design, but rather random natural selection, which is decent but demonstrably far from perfect.

Sure, but how good are you at judging if a human mind is irrational or not without engaging in conversation with it? Why not extend that logic to your body.

All human minds are irrational, including mine. And yours.

Re: Acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen

#400

Post by nkrisc »

vanderZwan wrote: post #245
magicalhippo wrote: post #110

> 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…

It is a cultural difference.

> In my case headaches are usually caused by sleep deprivation causing high sensitivity to external stimuli, muscle tension, dehydration, or some combination of that. So I'll first try to take a nap and/or stick to low-stimuli environments, have a good stretch and/or heated up massage pillow for the neck, and make a quick home-made oral rehydration solution with some salt and sugar. That usually alleviates most if not all of the pain.

Most Americans aren’t allowed to take naps at work or leave for some low-stimuli environment while on the clock. If they take time off to do those things, they aren’t getting paid. So why do Americans take more painkillers? Because they can’t afford to not do so.

So what’s the cultural aspect? That for some reason Americans find this preferable to socialized healthcare.

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