Hacker News Reader

Comment by kuschku | Hacker News Reader

That's why it's recommended to combine a half dose of ibuprofen and a half dose of paracetamol at the same time. (Plus some vitamin C)

Together they have higher pain killung effects than each alone, and the side effects are reduced as they affect different body parts. And the vitamin C reduces the damage to the stomach lining.

View on HN

Or if you need stronger painkilling you can take a full dose of paracetomol and either ibuprofen or aspirin. OTOH aspirin and ibuprofen use the same pathways so combining a full dose of ibuprofen and aspirin is not recommended.

Interesting, then why does Aspirin do almost nothing when I have a headache, while Ibuprofen works very well and very quickly?

Headaches have different causes.

Aspirin and ibuprofen are both NSAIDs with not too dissimilar pathways, so combining them won't be as effective as combining either with paracetamol. They'll both do their jobs, but if the ibuprofen is already doing its job, aspirin won't have much work left to do.

Meanwhile, taking ibuprofen can negate the effect aspirin has when taken against cardiovascular diseases. Not a huge problem if you're just taking it as a painkiller, but not everyone can combine the two. That's another potential reason to take paracetamol over some NSAIDs, though you should obviously consult a doctor if you're taking prescription medicine of any kind.

That's very interesting about vitamin C, I never heard that it can reduce stomach lining damage. It's surprising because things with vitamin C tend to give me heartburn, I assumed because they were acidic. Do you have any references?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com