Absolutely, the risks of addiction are monumentally different and should not be conflate. That said, my sister definitely did get addicted to Advil in her teens. On the other hand, I haven’t had an Advil in over ten years and in that time have only experienced a handful of headaches, each only lasting a few minutes. Chances are, I’m just very lucky. But there’s also a good chance that if I resorted to Advil before meditation and hydration, my luck would run out more frequently. YMMV.
Comment on Seek relief
enki@lemm.ee 1 year agoThere’s a VERY big difference between “pain relievers”, NSAIDs, and “pain killers” which are opioids. NSAIDs are effective and safe if used properly.
nul@programming.dev 1 year ago
enki@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Just like anything, they should be used according to directions and in moderation. I rarely take them as well, but they are safe and effective when used as directed or prescribed by your doctor.
Zagorath@aussie.zone 1 year ago
Not all pain killers fit into those two categories.
The normal headache pill, paracetamol (most notably sold as “Panadol”), is neither NSAID nor opioid.
I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world 1 year ago
That’s Tylenol (acetaminophen) for the US folks.
Zagorath@aussie.zone 1 year ago
Oh yeah, that’s right. That’s a weird one. Not sure why they have two such different names.
I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s para-~a~cet~yl-~am~ino-phen~ol vs ~para-~acet~yl-~amino-phen~ol.~
enki@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Your distinction is correct, but I simply listed NSAIDs as an example, not an exhaustive list of pain relievers. You also make assumptions on “the normal headache pill” based on your locale. In the US paracetamol/acetaminophen/Tylenol is very common, but so is ibuprofen/Advil, naproxen sodium/Aleve, and aspirin/Bayer. In fact, I’d argue ibuprofen is far more popular here based on how much larger the ibuprofen section is compared to acetaminophen in pharmacies. Granted acetaminophen is a bit more common in compound OTC meds like cold and flu medicines.
That being said, paracetamol functions extremely similarly to NSAIDs, but it’s not anti-inflammatory, and works on the nervous system only, whereas NSAIDs affect the brain and body as well.