acetaminophen is used more as a fever reducer and for pain. ibuprofen which is also known as motrin or advil can be used for pain that's caused by inflammation. so the theory is is that if the area is inflamed that's really what's causing the pain. acetaminophen or tylenol is also referred to as apap in some formulations. you want to be careful. you want to make sure that you don't exceed more than 4 000 milligrams a day for an adult. if you are an elderly person you don't want to exceed 2 000 milligrams a day and you would want to avoid things like alcohol. they are noticing that there have been some challenges with acetaminophen in the cases of people taking too much of it. they weren't aware that they were taking prescription medications with acetaminophen in it. so you want to talk to your pharmacist first before you consider choosing these products. on the advil/motrin side once again you don't want to drink alcohol with them. it really helps create nausea. it could upset the stomach. if you have an ulcer it's not recommended. if you have asthma it's not recommended either because ibuprofen is a sister to aspirin and it could trigger an asthma attack. that's really some people are very sensitive to this class and that's why they shouldn't be taking it. so once again you want to come to the pharmacy you want to ask for the pharmacist. you want to come with your medication list show us what you are taking and then tell us what are your symptoms. in some cases if you have had a pain for a while we might refer you to a doctor or a healthcare provider to have it further evaluated.
what's the difference between acetaminophen and ibuprofen and what are the dangers of each?