In terms of toxicity and danger to your body is paracetamol considered the lesser of two evils?
Obviously both of these medicines are widely used and are both considered very safe to use for most people within the prescription limitations.
In: Chemistry
Well they work differently so factor that in too.
Paracetamol blocks pathways for pain to reach, making your brain think you’re not in pain (and can reduce fever) but it is incredibly damaging to your liver if you take a lot of it over a long period of time, and your liver is obviously quite important.
Ibuprofen reduces inflammation, also reduces fever, and some evidence has been shown that it can make a cough worse with asthma, but it also can ruin your stomach lining with heavy use over a long period of time, causing stomach ulcers.
So.. Realistically there isn’t really a lesser of two evils, as long as you stay within the dosage guidelines you will most likely be fine either way, but it has seemed that paracetamol is somewhat the more evil choice actually, due to how easily it can screw up your liver. Sure, stomach ulcers are genuinely quite painful but survivable, but if you ruin your liver that’s going to be a much worse time.
A quick Google shows 1,600 deaths per year due to acetaminophen (paracetamol) overdose in the US, compared to 15,600 due to ibuprofen.
So, yes.
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