If your child has broken an arm, you know how painful it can be. Most often, children are sent home from the emergency or urgent care with a new cast/splint and a prescription for acetaminophen (ex., Tylenol) and codeine together. However, this type of medication seems to cause side effects in over 50% of children. This may make the first few days of the break difficult.
Researchers in Wisconsin studied the effects of ibuprofen (ex., Advil) on children with broken arms, compared with acetaminophen and codeine. The goal of the study was to see if the pain relief was comparable and …read more

Have a headache? Take a Tylenol or some other brand of acetamenophen, right? Howe about a toothache? Menstrual cramps? Broken arm?
There are many types of over-the-counter pain relievers available to the consumer, namely acetaminophen, ibuprofen (Advil) and ASA (Aspirin). And, for many people, they’re very effective. The problem is, who is monitoring how much of these medications they take and how often?

More evidence that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) –COX-2 inhibitors*, ibuprofen, naproxen–may increase the risk of heart attacks. A Finnish case-control study comparing heart attack patients with matched control subjects found that “current use of any type of NSAID was associated with 40 percent increased risk of having a heart attack.”
Conflicting evidence abounds when it comes to the safety of NSAID pain relievers as they pertain to heart health. The best way to settle the issue would be to conduct a clinical trial (the gold standard of epidemiologic studies) that compares study participants who are given NSAIDs to those given …read more