The best for muscular pain (Ibuprofen)

Member Name: claireislafrazer

Product:	Ibuprofen
Date:	14/10/08 (94 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Works fast on pain and swelling, can get it cheaply

Disadvantages: None

Im not a fan of asprin. My father has had a stomach ulcer and stomach lining inflammation from having to take a tablet every day. Ibuprofen is thought to be less harmful to the stomach than asprin if you keep to a low dose so I make sure theres always a box in the medicine cupboard.

Ibuprofen is an NSAID (Nonsteriodal antinflammatory drug) and inhibits the enzyme cyclooxygenase and so stops the production of prostaglandins and therefore is anti-inflammatory, helps to reduce fever and reduces pain.

It can be dangerous to use for some people. People who have had stomach ulcers, or have had their asthma get worse when using ibuprofen should not take it, also people with heart conditions should ask their doctors before using it because there may be an increased risk of a heart attack or stroke associated with taking it for long periods. Healthy people do not worry though, I have never had any problems with them.

The Ibuprofen that you can buy from a chemist comes in either 200mg or 400g tablets. There are many genetic brands that you can get. I think I saw one in boot's value range the other day that was 30p for 16 200mg tablets! Branded products like neurofen are much more expensive but can have extra benefits ( eg. get to work faster) You can take 200-400mg of ibuprofen every 4 hours but no more than 1200mg in 24 hours without supervision from a doctor.

I first found out how effective ibuprofen was when I was 13 and had been to a sleepover and somehow injured the muscles in my back from sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor, the pain didnt come immediately but the day after in school I could hardly move! It wasnt just the ache of a pulled muscle but it was sharp stabbing pains in my lower back and sides whenever I moved. Somehow, not sure how actually I managed to get a doctors appointment in the afternoon after school and was prescribed a higher dose than you can get at the chemist (i think it was 600mg). All i needed was one of the tablets and my back was much better! I couldnt believe it. I didnt need to take anymore tablets after that and (unforunately) I was able to do PE that week.

I find it very useful for period pains, (paracetemol does nothing for cramps in my opinon) though ill admit to have taken some codeine and paracetemol tablets aswell when its been very bad (not recommeding anyone does this), usually one dose of 400mg of ibuprofen can stop the cramping within about 30 mins.

Ibuprofen was a lifesaver for me when I had an outer and middle ear infection a few years ago. I got it from over use of earplugs apparantly. At the time of course I didnt have any ibuprofen in the house. The pain got steadily worse until it was like someone was stabbing a knife through my ear drum. I didnt sleep at all that night and was sat up with my ear next to the electric heater on full blast as it provided a tiny bit of relief. I wasdown to the doctors for 8am the next day (which was a saturday! thankfully doctors were still open then). Anyway with my antibiotics I was prescribed some 400mg ibuprofen tablets for the pain which got to work in about 30 minutes and took the edge of the pain for around 3 hours at a time. They got me through the three days before the anibiotics cured my infection. I really couldnt have coped with the pain without them. Moral of the story, always keep some in the house!

Another time something very odd happened to my finger. I was typing away on my laptop late one night and my finger started to itch so I gave it a scratch. Then all of a sudden it started to swell up so fast! It became so hot and I could feel the head going up my hand to it, it was pulsing so much and I was really worried! I ran to the kitchin hoping we had some ibuprofen because I knew it was an anti-inflammatory drug. Luckily we had some 400mg tablets so I took one. Amazingly enough the swelling went down after about 5 minutes of taking the tablets and was back to normal after 15 minutes and Ive had no problems since. Still dont know what caused that!

Neurofen do a liquid capsule form of ibuprofen called neurofen express which I dont think the generic brands do (tell me if im wrong). Basically they are the 200g tablets but liquified to make absorbtion quicker and therefore get to lessen pain more quickly. For this reason im more likely to fork out more money to buy these than generic brands just to shave a few minutes off from pain. I actually do find they get to work in about 20 minutes. These are 3.79 for a packet of 16 in boots.

Ive tried ibuprofen for headache but it never works at all, but neurofen have a new product in their express range which contains sodium ibuprofen. You can get these in 342mg packets which is equal to 200mg of ibuprofen. This form of ibuprofen dissolves quicker and so gets to work much faster on pain the nurofen website says it works twice as fast. I tried one of these once for a headache and to my suprise they worked so quickly, my headache was gone in 10 minutes, I highly recommend these. You can get a pack of 12 for around 4 pounds.

To sum up, if you want relief from musular pains and inflammation you can pick up a packet very cheaply but if you want extra extra benefits, the branded versions are the way to go and unfortunately you have to pay the extra for them.

Summary: Essential medicine