Pain Killer Ingredients
Most people use pain killers occasionally when they have aches and pains, headaches or sore joints. Most people also don't think too much about what type of active ingredients they are putting in their bodies for each type of pain killers; they only know which one works best for them. However, the type of pain killer that works best for you has much more to do with active ingredients than clever packaging and marketing buzz words. Choose the pain killer with the ingredients that tackle your specific kind of pain for the best results.
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Tylenol
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The popular pain killer Tylenol uses acetaminophen as its active ingredient. Acetaminophen works as an analgesic, which basically raises a users pain threshold, but science and medical experts are unsure as to how it does it. It also can reduce fever by telling the temperature center in the brain to lower your body temperature. Most types of Tylenol have a safe dosage of 500 mg of acetaminophen per caplet.
Advil
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Advil, a pain-relieving drug, works in a different way than Tylenol because it has different ingredients. Advil uses a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) called ibuprofen to decrease inflamed joints to relieve pain. It also helps dull the pain receptors in nerves to fight pain elsewhere. Advil contains 200 mg per caplet of ibuprofen, which is a smaller amount of medication that acetaminophen. However, NSAIDs should not be used by certain people, such as women who are pregnant.
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Excedrin
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Excedrin is a pain-relieving drug that is most commonly used for headaches and migraines. Excedrin contains both 250 mg of acetaminophen, as well as 250 mg of the NSAID medication, aspirin. It also contains 65 mg of caffeine per caplet, as caffeine has properties to stop headaches and help the medication work faster in the body. Excedrin has the power of both types of medicine, so it tackles pain receptors and heightens pain tolerance at the same time.
Aspirin
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Aspirin contains just what it says in the title: aspirin. Aspirin works like ibuprofen as an NSAID pain reliever, except that instead of stopping the pain at the nerve level, it does so at the cellular level, altering the chemical processes in your body so that you don't feel the pain. One regular aspirin caplet contains 325 mg of aspirin.
Bottom Line
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While you may use a pain reliever every day, choosing the type of pain reliever that will work best for your type of pain is not an everyday task. Choose one that works with your lifestyle, along with any other current medications. Remember to always follow dosage instructions on the packaging, as an overdose of any of these ingredients can cause serious health problems and even death.
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