4 ms·

Well, lucky for you, both (in fact, all three) are still available. But, as a statistical matter, Ibuprofen is safer. Not only because the liver is such a conte

Well, lucky for you, both (in fact, all three) are still available. But, as a statistical matter, Ibuprofen is safer. Not only because the liver is such a contentious point for drug elimination, including alcohol, but due to the ability to fix overdoses. Even with minor overdoses (such as mixing with alcohol), paracematol causes permanent liver damage, whereas stomach ulcers can be repaired. More than 100,000 people die annually from Paracematol overdoses. Ibuprofen is sold more, and has fewer than 16,000 deaths.

rscho 6y ago
Kidneys cannot be repaired. You'll need hemodialysis if you overdose on ibuprofen. I don't know the state of the research on the topic, but I expect locations offering OTC NSAIDs to have issues with acute and chronic kidney injury that goes pretty much unnoticed. Especially in populations with high diabetes prevalence. One of the reasons for higher paracetamol mortality is because people commit suicide using it (especially common among teenagers).
hilbert42 6y ago
"More than 100,000 people die annually from Paracetamol overdoses." The fact is we seem to be damned if we do or damned if we don't. We desperately need a reasonably effective and safe painkiller. If 100,000 actually die from paracetamol per year then there's a reasonable excuse for banning it. But what do we replace it with given that many cannot take NSAIDs for various reasons? - Pharmacists and doctors repeatedly say paracetamol/acetaminophen is very safe if taken according to directions, the trouble is, that in excess, it shuts the liver down and it cannot recover/clear the drug in time before real trouble sets in. Moreover, it's not very effective as a painkiller. - NSAIDs, ibuprofen and aspirin, cause bleeding of the stomach and other major issues, even hearing loss in high doses. - The newer COX-2 selective NSAID Rofecoxib, aka Vioxx, was very effective at certain forms of pain relief but was banned by the FDA after it was found to cause cardiac effects in susceptible people including heard attacks. (Another criticism I have of the FDA is the inordinate length of time it took for the FDA to remove Vioxx from the market after its cardiac effects became known—this was around three years. (I recall reading a paper in the AAAS journal Science that outlined Vioxx's cardiac effects and thinking to myself that the drug would have to be banned. That was some three years before the FDA actually banned it). - Celecoxib, also a newer COX-2 selective NSAID that is in the same class as Vioxx, hasn’t yet been banned but it still has the potential to cause cardiac effects. Moreover, it is not as effective a painkiller as Vioxx was. - Then there's the dangerously addictive opioids. - Once we had another rather effective painkiller but it too has been long banned. APC was a mixture of aspirin, phenacetin and caffeine and it was rather effective except for the fact that it rotted one's kidneys, many instances of kidney disease were attributed to its use Alas, there's precious little else, especially anything that's safe. It's a pathetically inadequate a list, isn't it?

rscho 6y ago

Kidneys cannot be repaired. You'll need hemodialysis if you overdose on ibuprofen. I don't know the state of the research on the topic, but I expect locations offering OTC NSAIDs to have issues with acute and chronic kidney injury that goes pretty much unnoticed. Especially in populations with high diabetes prevalence. One of the reasons for higher paracetamol mortality is because people commit suicide using it (especially common among teenagers).

hilbert42 6y ago

"More than 100,000 people die annually from Paracetamol overdoses." The fact is we seem to be damned if we do or damned if we don't. We desperately need a reasonably effective and safe painkiller. If 100,000 actually die from paracetamol per year then there's a reasonable excuse for banning it. But what do we replace it with given that many cannot take NSAIDs for various reasons? - Pharmacists and doctors repeatedly say paracetamol/acetaminophen is very safe if taken according to directions, the trouble is, that in excess, it shuts the liver down and it cannot recover/clear the drug in time before real trouble sets in. Moreover, it's not very effective as a painkiller. - NSAIDs, ibuprofen and aspirin, cause bleeding of the stomach and other major issues, even hearing loss in high doses. - The newer COX-2 selective NSAID Rofecoxib, aka Vioxx, was very effective at certain forms of pain relief but was banned by the FDA after it was found to cause cardiac effects in susceptible people including heard attacks. (Another criticism I have of the FDA is the inordinate length of time it took for the FDA to remove Vioxx from the market after its cardiac effects became known—this was around three years. (I recall reading a paper in the AAAS journal Science that outlined Vioxx's cardiac effects and thinking to myself that the drug would have to be banned. That was some three years before the FDA actually banned it). - Celecoxib, also a newer COX-2 selective NSAID that is in the same class as Vioxx, hasn’t yet been banned but it still has the potential to cause cardiac effects. Moreover, it is not as effective a painkiller as Vioxx was. - Then there's the dangerously addictive opioids. - Once we had another rather effective painkiller but it too has been long banned. APC was a mixture of aspirin, phenacetin and caffeine and it was rather effective except for the fact that it rotted one's kidneys, many instances of kidney disease were attributed to its use Alas, there's precious little else, especially anything that's safe. It's a pathetically inadequate a list, isn't it?