Paracetamol and other drugs

Last night Dave said he had a headache and that he had taken 2 aspirin an hour earlier, but wanted to take 2 ibuprofen. I then had to explain to him that aspirin, ibuprofen, advil, and aleve were all the same product. Then he said he would just take some paracetamol, which I had to tell him that paracetamol is the same thing as the others.

Paracetamol is acetaminophen and is the basic ingredient in all the aspirin like drugs, but then they add other ingredients, such as an anti-inflammatory. The purpose of paracetamol is for pain relief and fever reduction and is REALLY cheap here in England. However, there are side effects when taken in large amounts; liver damage and stomach bleeding. Tylenol does not have the stomach bleeding side effect, but does not have the anti-inflammatory ingredient. When I have an athlete or dancer that sprains their ankle or another simple injury, I always advise them to take ibu, advil or whatever is in their house and read the label to know how much to take. This helps decrease swelling and increase the healing process.

Hope this helps if you were confused too.