Paracetamol and ibuprofen are the two most popular substances used in the fight against pain. Although they both fight persistent ailments, they work completely different. How are they different from each other and how to use them safely?
The action of painkillers is not limited to just relieving pain. Usually, preparations reduce fever, and some also fight inflammation. It all depends on the active ingredient. In the case of paracetamol, the receptors responsible for the sensation of pain are blocked, while imbuprofen hits directly at the source of pain.
All about paracetamol
Paracetamol is primarily a substance that relieves pain and reduces fever. There is little he will be able to do with inflammation. It can be given to children from one month of age. It works best when your muscles, joints, bones, teeth or head ache. It soothes neuralgia, menstrual cramps and discomfort that appear after dental and surgical procedures.
The drug is very well absorbed. It reaches its maximum concentration after 30-60 minutes. The analgesic effect lasts from 4-6 hours, the antipyretic effect – up to 8 hours. Paracetamol does not affect blood clotting and does not irritate the gastric mucosa. The drug is safe for people with diabetes, hypertension or asthma. It interacts with other painkillers, so you need to carefully check whether other medications you take do not contain paracetamol. Too high levels of the active substance in the blood can damage the liver. People with renal insufficiency should be especially careful as the drug accumulates in the blood. It interacts with most antiviral drugs. It should not be taken by people who abuse alcohol.
Ibuprofen, or what?
Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It can be used from the age of 6 months. Most often it is in the form of tablets, a suspension, a suppository or a gel. Ibuprofen works best for period pains, headaches or toothaches. Due to its anti-inflammatory effect, it is taken by people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and arthrosis. It soothes ailments that appear after an injury and helps with inflammation of tendons, ligaments, muscles and joint capsules.
The best thing about ibuprofen is that it works very quickly. Relief comes as early as 30 minutes after taking the drug and lasts for 4-6 hours. The drug is absorbed in the stomach and small intestine. When given in a tablet, its maximum concentration is reached after an hour or two. It does not accumulate in the body and is excreted in the urine within 24 hours.
Unfortunately, ibuprofen can be dangerous to your health in some cases. An overdose of the drug can lead to gastrointestinal bleeding, but unlike paracetamol, there is no risk of liver damage. Taking too much of the drug may cause an allergic reaction in the form of rash, rhinitis, erythema, and swelling. People with stomach ulcers, asthma or kidney, liver or heart failure should be careful with ibuprofen. It should also be remembered that taking ibufronym should not be combined with alcohol. This combination may increase the effect of the drug and cause cross-allergy.
Can they be combined with each other?
– The combination of ibuprofen and paracetamol is safe, of course, taking into account all individual contraindications to the use of each of these drugs as monotherapy (one drug separately). The different mechanism of action of ibuprofen and paracetamol enables the combined administration of these two active substances both in two independent forms of drugs (e.g. tablets) or in one preparation, in accordance with the principles of combining analgesics. Combining ibuprofen with paracetamol can produce an effective analgesic effect in mild to moderate pain with the use of lower doses of the individual components. In other words, for an effective analgesic effect, we must use a higher dose of ibuprofen and paracetamol separately (monotherapy) compared to the doses of these drugs used simultaneously. This also applies to its antipyretic effect. Despite the combination of ibuprofen with paracetamol, the results of clinical trials do not indicate a cumulative side effect. ]
- Read more: Dangerous interactions
However, to keep the treatment safe, we should check what painkillers we use, as there are many drugs on the market with different trade names containing both paracetamol and ibuprofen. Therefore, there is a real risk of, in a sense, unknowingly exceeding the allowable doses when using the same active substance under different trade names, says Prof. Monika Białecka, clinical pharmacologist.