How exactly do OTC painkillers work?

[blakjeezis]

Things like, Advil, Tylenol and such. My theory is that they go to your brain and block 'pain receptors' there, preventing you from feeling whatever ailment your feeling. Others say that they go throughout your body via bloodstream and wherever the pain is they get there eventually. Still others say your body identifies them and sends them to the source of the pain to do their thing. And yet more claim that the drugs are smart and know where to go.

Which one is it? Or is it something completely different? Do different ones do different things, aspirin vs. non-aspirin, is that a consideration?

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[TooCute]

Aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen sodium are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They work by inhibiting the production of cyclooxygenase, which prohibits the formation of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins cause smooth muscle (that includes blood vessels) contraction so inhibiting them increases blood flow and decreases inflammation. They also irritate nerve endings, causing pain, so getting rid of them reduces pain.

Acetaminophen works by blocking pain receptors in your brain, and it decreases fever by working on the hypothalamus.

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[TheMojoPin]

Take two Avrils and stop trying to make things so complicated! A-guh-guh-SHOOT ME.

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[Death Metal Moe]

She's pretty hot for a Canadian.

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[TheMojoPin]

You're pretty blind for a bacon-eater.

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[Death Metal Moe]

COMRADE! You wouldn't TAP that?

Come on now.

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[HBox]

She has itsy bitsy boobies.

[TheMojoPin]

I don't "tap" rabid raccoons.

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[Death Metal Moe]

She has itsy bitsy boobies


So?

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[HBox]

That's fine if you're after 12 year olds. But hey, who isn't?

[Death Metal Moe]

Everybody's built different. I think she's hot.

I'd just have to tape her mouth shut because her music is foul and she looks like the kind of person who's every spoken word is dumber than the one before it.

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[zathrus]

i'm not sure how the work, but it takes so long for them to work.

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[DreamWeaver]

And yet more claim that the drugs are smart and know where to go.

Medicine's not smart, medicine's dumb.



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[HordeKing1]

TC summed it up nicely.

Some work by disrupting the pain receptors in the brain. (This works to varying degrees based on the individual and the specific problem.) The principle is akin to Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation - if the pain signal doesn't reach the brain, it won't occur. (Unfortunately, most otc meds, like TENS, are not strong enough for any but the lightest types of pain.).

They are terrific in reducing fever, b/c they act on the part of the brain that regulates core body temperature.

Others work as anti-inflamatories, which is good for minor arthritic pain, joint pain, traumatically induced edema (as opposed to a cardiovascular edema).

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[blakjeezis]

Medicine's not smart, medicine's dumb.

Are you gonna steal all my jokes now?

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