(generic disclaimer that I am NOT A DOCTOR, and I am not DIAGNOSING or PRESCRIBING anything on my site. Do not try this at home, etc.)
Tylenol= acetaminophen
Pain/fever reducer and preferred choice during pregnancy. These are hard on your liver so lay off the alcohol when you take this and do NOT exceed the recommended dose. Works by increasing the threshold for pain signals/chemicals necessary to make your brain recognize pain in your body, and inhibits the Center for Fever in your brain (hypothalamus).
Advil/ibuprofen, Aspirin/Bayer, Aleve/naproxen
Hard on your stomach lining and bowels, ie they make your gut hurt. Not good if you have problems with ulcers; these guys can make your gut bleed, and that would be VERY BAD if you have an ulcer. These are best taken with food, usually. These are good for reducing inflammation (which is why they work for arthritis, muscle pain, bursitis) and work by preventing the formation of inflammation-related chemicals (prostaglandins, if you care), which are also connected to body temperature (hello again, hypothalamus).
More thoughts on pain-killers:
You cannot kill pain in the body with drugs without a cost to one or more systems of the body; you can turn off the "pain noise" in your brain, but you want to be careful not to actually damage your body while you can't feel pain. Pain is, after all, the main form of communication your brain has with your body. You can turn off the chemicals that cause inflammation, but you aren't turning off the CAUSE of the inflammation, so it is a temporary fix.
That being said, pain has destructive effects on our body, and are not usually well tolerated; most people lose some function when they are in pain whether it is concentration, the ability to move normally, or complete necessary tasks (think of tying your shoes when your back goes out or trying to sleep after you've twisted an ankle, for instance). Sometimes we need relief from the immediate symptoms in order to heal from the cause- just be mindful of how you achieve that relief.
Oh yeah, says who?
Here are some links to further reading:
I want to know a little:
I want to know more:
(oh yes, i went there. wikipedia has great general information and great bibliographic links- bite me.)
I am a nerd:
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