Recently, while I was strolling through my local drug store, I came to a halt in the pain relief section. I had never really thought of it until then, but if I were a looking for a specific type of analgesic, I would be in the midst of a meltdown. Here were dozens of names for pain relief. The familiar (Advil, Excedrin, and Tylenol, just to name a few), the knock-off (personal favorite: Walproxen), and the bizarre (caffeine plus aspirin equals Anacin). To complicate matters, each brand had several permutations of itself. Why go with regular when you have the extra-strength, gel-capsuled, PM dose? Just the sight of it gave me a tension headache, for which I discovered that Excedrin had a specific formulation to treat.
Despite the variety, the litany of names represents only a few different active ingredients. You’ve probably heard of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), which include aspirin and ibuprofen, and likely acetaminophen. But do you know exactly what each does to relieve pain? More importantly, what can’t they do?
Advil
Advil is the most well-known trade name for ibuprofen. Surprisingly, this ubiquitous and well-known product has only been available for over-the-counter purchase since 1984.
Ibuprofen is one of the many NSAIDs (aspirin and naproxen sodium are also NSAIDs) that work by preventing the generation of enzymes called cyclooxygenase (COX), responsible for the creation of a hormone called prostaglandin. Prostaglandins are responsible for stimulating the body’s inflammation and pain responses. By reducing the enzymes that create prostaglandins, NSAIDs help reduce those symptoms associated with inflammation (redness, swelling, and aching), which is why they are often used in sports injuries and arthritis.
Because it is a stable compound, ibuprofen is available in multiple forms, hence the gel-caps, solutions, etc., that you’ll see it in. Initially introduced as a hand-made, anti-arthritic medication, it was sold by prescription only. When the FDA cleared it for over-the-counter sales, Advil (as it was called in the U.S.) moved so fast that demand outstripped supply, and large-scale manufacturing kicked off. Today, all Advil facilities combined produce over 30 million tablets every day.
With that output, high levels of consumption exist in the U.S. So much so that, like many NSAIDs, ibuprofen has been linked to gastrointestinal bleeding and is especially bad in folks with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Due to a select number of people popping these pills like Mentos, the medical community tells people with a history of cardiac disease to be careful, as ibuprofen has been linked to cardiac infarction.
There are other ibuprofen brands out there, Motrin most likely being the biggest, but ultimately the differences are nil. Motrin has a higher dosage level than that of Advil, so practitioners generally advise taking fewer doses of Motrin only because the amount of ibuprofen present is greater.
