What's the worst ? Advil or Tylenol

Sorry about the headache
I am in the advil camp as nothing else seems to help my headaches...don't have them often but when I do it does the trick to fix it. Have never asked the doc about it.

For sinus troubles, I will often use a plain saline solution nose spray. It is like a day at the ocean because the salt spray seems to reduce the swelling of the membranes. This spray also does not contain any meds which one might not be able to take. Not for sure, but don't beleive it bothers those with high blood pressure who might be on salt limited or free diets.

Hope all is better soon.

Hugs,

Marie

pepebcn said:

Thank you Marie I'm in the Advil side as well, nothing
else works on me! .Thanks for the suggestion of the saline spray but I tried everything and nothing works, just notice that is a question of chemo as well , l always had a limited and minor sinusitis but since chemo it's a nightmare but only a few days after the infusion!.
Don't know why But I have been told by many docs ,better Tylenol than Advil, seems something to do with bowel bleeding and also kidney but it's the only drug that works on me!

Advil is as Ibuprofen
Info from the net:

Ibuprofen is known to have an antiplatelet effect, though it is relatively mild and short-lived when compared with aspirin or other better-known antiplatelet drugs.

In general, ibuprofen also acts as a vasodilator, having been shown to dilate coronary arteries and some other blood vessels.

*******************************************

Because of this it can cause the bleeding if damage to those areas or if overdose. Asprin can do the same, as well as some other meds.

lisa42 said:

Advil
Hi Pepe,

Sorry about the headache. Choosing between the two, I'd take Advil. A lot wouldn't be great, but every now and then should be fine. Tylenol is known to be very hard on your liver, so I would avoid ever taking Tylenol, especially while on chemo.
Something I recently learned is that an ice pack on the back of your neck/lower head helps with a headache too- try it!

Take care-
Lisa

I have found that, too, Lisa!
I get killer sinus headaches. In fact, the only time in my adult life I didn't suffer from them was during chemo for the breast cancer....

I do use Ibuprophen alot...it's my 'magic snake oil' for many ills. But I did run it by my onc first to make sure it was ok....she said it was, recommended dose.

But the ice on the back of the neck works, too!!!!!!

Hugs, Kathi

pete43lost_at_sea said:

i love your arguments john
always interesting to read.

remember when i was having 8 tylenol a day for my diarrhea. the good old chemo bag days.

well some good advice here and from my support group got me on to the natural path, old news.

well the point is the 8 a day limit is rubbery, if you drink alcohol its reduced.

so i presume so it would be if your on chemo.

your liver is already being hammered grog and chemo ( hopefully people don't do both )

no doctor explains these limits and caveats well.

the safe limit they say is 8 a day, the unsafe limit is like 9 a day. apperently you go
from safe to really unsafe very fast.

anythinh that decreases liver function basically puts youinto the unsafe zone.

hugs,
pete

ps when we see the chemo induced liver damage here, i am so glad i was made aware of these risks. i owe my life to this board in many ways, well at least my quality of life.

Not sure about tylenol
But I found out that ibuprofen is ASPIRIN based.

I discovered this several years ago when I had to finally go in for a complete upper tooth extraction, and the oral surgeon asked me what I had been doing for pain management. Told him my routine was FOUR 200 mg ibuprofen, 2 aspirin and 2 extra strenght tylenol, every 4 hours.

He about fainted... told me I was VERY lucky I hadn't had an aspirin overdose, as ibuprofen is an aspirin based pain killer. So I was basically getting a double-whammy.

Still.. my family is a firm believer in ibuprofen. We've tried tylenol and it's just nowhere NEAR as effective for pain relief, OR reducing fever.

thxmiker said:

Have you tried a Sinus
Have you tried a Sinus rinse? http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=501567
My wife had serious sinus infections and allergies. She was on meds etc... She started the sinus rinse and stopped the allergy meds, the sinus sprays, and the head aches.

I rinse in the shower when my sinuses get blocked. I did this for many years and now rarely need to do it.

Best Always, mike

PS I also like the wine idea! A good glass of Spanish Barbera is always relaxing.

Netti pots
Look 'em up... some folks around the world rinse out their sinuses every day, just like we brush our teeth. I fought with chronic sinus infection a couple years ago and finally had sinus surgery January of last year (as it turned out, 2 months before my BIG surgery).

Nettie pots can be found at health food stores or even in the medicine aisles of larger chain stores. They come with packets of "sea salt" to mix with luke warm sterile water, then you pour the mixture through each side of your sinuses and out the other side. FREAKY AS HECK FEELING the first few times you do it, and you definitely don't want to forget to follow the instructions and bend over to properly drain, but it seems to work pretty well.

When I was finally talked into seeing an ENT specialist, she diagnosed me with a "pond scum" infection, which is basically an oily coating of the sinuses that normal saline rinsing won't get rid of, and it collects bacteria causing chronic sinus infections. HER recommendation was to mix 2 or 3 drops of Johnson and Johnson baby hair shampoo with each sinus rinse mixture, which the properties of the shampoo helps break up the oily substance and hence helps get rid of the infection. Sounds crazy, right? Well, in MY case it ended up not working, but there's been a lot of success stories out there, so... something the think about

In the meantime, toss the tylenol in the trash and grab that ibuprofen! LOL j/k