

Ibuprofen Is Not A Solution, Only A Buffer - phwd
http://philippeharewood.blogspot.com/2012/10/ibuprofen-is-not-solution-only-buffer.html

======
cujo
Am I the only one that can't get past "Ibuprofen" in the title and his talk of
Tylenol (Acetaminophen) in the text?

He would probably be better off taking ibuprofen for his wrists, assuming it
is an inflammation problem.

~~~
phwd
You are indeed correct, yet differences such as these aren't really taken up
by some in the population. A few years ago, if I was in throbbing pain,
walking through the pharmacy, I wouldn't really have the time or energy (which
is really bad and not thoughtful) to search the back labels or ask a
pharmacist on whether I should be taking Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen or a
placebo.

The point I was _trying_ (maybe failing) to get at, was these drugs regardless
of their chemical makeup, most of the time, some of us don't need them but we
take the clutch anyway.

They are pain reliefs, not solutions to whatever the pain was caused by.

~~~
Udo
It _does_ matter what the actual active ingredients of medication are, even in
pain medication, whether the general population cares about that or not. These
things really do have different properties and side effects, pain meds are not
interchangeable.

But that shouldn't distract from your general point which I find hard to
disagree with: pain medication is symptomatic relief. That doesn't make it
irrelevant, but it doesn't mean people should ignore the underlying causes
either. At the same time, these causes are sometimes idiopathic, (short term)
unavoidable or (long term) untreatable.

------
lutusp
It's worse than that -- regular Ibuprofen users are destroying their livers:

"The Effect of Ibuprofen on the Liver":

[http://www.ehow.com/about_5185317_effect-ibuprofen-
liver.htm...](http://www.ehow.com/about_5185317_effect-ibuprofen-liver.html)

A quote: "Hepatitis caused by ibuprofen is marked by abdominal pain and
tenderness on the upper right side, dark-colored urine, diarrhea, headache,
nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, jaundice and white or clay-
colored stool (NIH) ... The treatment for ibuprofen-induced liver damage is
simply discontinuing use of the drug (NIH)."

So sayeth Captain Obvious.

To me, the problem is not prescription drugs that should be freely available,
it's freely available drugs that should be prescription.

~~~
mhd
Is there a substance that you can't abuse? (Not even talking about alcohol,
take sugar for example)

If you're exceeding 3200 mg/day of ibuprofen for long stretches of time,
you're either seriously used to it, or have something quite serious. In which
case it would be quite likely that you'd be getting ibuprofen as a
prescription, if that were necessary (or something stronger and with
more/worse side-effects).

~~~
lutusp
> Is there a substance that you can't abuse?

Do you mean a substance that has no harmful or excessive dose? No, I don't
think so. People have had aspirin from prehistoric times (obtained from willow
bark), but aspirin has well-established dangers.

My reason for posting was to make people aware that this seemingly benign non-
prescription drug can be dangerous.

> Not even talking about alcohol, take sugar for example.

Sugar is a great example of a substance that has all sorts of deleterious
effects, from the time it enters you mouth and erodes your teeth, all the way
through your system. The central paradox of modern times isn't what's illegal,
but what's legal. :)

Apropos, try to guess where the most dangerous place is for the average person
in modern times. Ready? The bedroom. And if you're married, the danger is much
higher.

~~~
snogglethorpe
> _try to guess where the most dangerous place is for the average person in
> modern times. Ready? The bedroom. And if you're married, the danger is much
> higher_

Protip: when your wife is in the bathroom, unload the pistol under her pillow.

------
spobo
If it's your wrists try a dvorak keyboard.

But I would suggest some exercise and healthy eating (aka Paleo) above all.

~~~
tosseraccount
Better yet, learn macros. It's the repetitive stuff that kills your
hands/arm/wrist.

Anybody using vim needs to know about the map command.

