(AscendHealthy.com) – Tylenol and Advil are basically the same thing, right? Not quite. Although many people tend to think of these over-the-counter medications as interchangeable, they contain different active ingredients that often treat various problems more effectively than others. While people can respond to Tylenol and Advil differently, they do not tend to be equal headache medications for the majority of the population.
Active Ingredients of Tylenol and Advil
Tylenol and Advil are among the best-known name-brand products that utilize two separate active ingredients that are commonly used to treat headaches, muscle aches, and other minor pain. Tylenol includes acetaminophen, while Advil uses ibuprofen, and many people find that one of these ingredients tends to work better for them than the other the majority of the time. Many store brands also offer generic versions of medications that include acetaminophen and ibuprofen, which typically work the same as their name-brand counterparts as long as they contain the same amount of that active ingredient.
Classification of Tylenol and Advil
Advil and other medications containing ibuprofen are classified as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), while Tylenol and other medications containing acetaminophen are classified as analgesics. These classifications are based on the specific types of pain that each ingredient is best at treating, which means that Tylenol and Advil were designed with specific uses in mind and function differently than people may think.
Potential Benefits of Tylenol and Advil
For many individuals, Tylenol tends to be the most effective option for treating headaches because acetaminophen primarily targets the nervous system, which plays a major role in causing headaches. Ibuprofen is often more effective at treating most other types of pain that come with swelling, heat, and other signs of inflammation, such as back, neck, ear, and tooth pain.
That being said, it is important to remember that people respond to medications differently. Much like certain prescription medications only work well for some patients, it is possible for some people to find that they respond better to ibuprofen in general and experience few to no benefits from acetaminophen. There is also nothing wrong with trying ibuprofen if an individual normally takes acetaminophen and finds that it just is not getting rid of a particularly severe headache.
Your doctor is your best source of information when determining which medication may work best for you, as well as any potential allergies, reactions to other medications you are taking, or other reasons to avoid acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
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