Tell me about merits or reasons to combine aspirin and Tylenol

[NeoPTLD]

In the U.S. there are a handful of ingredients to select from in the OTC variety of analgesic/pain reliever formulation.

The well known Tylenol classic, which is straight acetaminophen and the remaining products are NSAIDs, which refers to non-steroid drugs with anti-inflammatory, analgesic and pain relief effects.

The OTC NSAIDs today, to my knowledge are ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin.

Excedrin is a formulation comparable to taking a pill of acetaminophen, a pill of aspirin, then finishing it off with a cup of coffee.

Excedrin's formulation is 250mg APAP, 250mg Aspirin and 65mg caffeine(listed as booster)

When the two of these are combined, what merits do they provide over taking just one kind?
Does the mix provide pain relief potential exceeding that of 250mg APAP and 250mg Aspirin combined through synergistic action?

 

[Gibsons]

IIRC I don't think there's a synergy between the two regarding pain relief. I think there have been studies demonstrating that. There is a synergy between them in inducing kidney damage however...

Maybe an explanation is that you can get the sum total of analgesic activity while reducing the liver specific side effects of acetaminophen and the gastric side effects of aspirin. Normal short term doses usually don't show these side effects though.

Caffeine relieves a lot headaches because some people get headaches as a result of caffeine withdrawal.

Personal anecdote, I find Excedrin to be awesome.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

The pharmacist I work with recommended this mixture to a guy who was too early on his painkiller refill the other day.

I found this interesting: link

Basically, Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen have different analgesic mechanisms, so there is no harmful interaction there.

I'm not sure why two NSAID's can't be taken simultaneously though.

 

[Veramocor]

reserved

 

[dkozloski]

Be cautious with aspirin in any dosage. I've bled out three times to about 50% of my blood supply remaining from aspirin. The last time was with 80mg childrens tablets.

 

[Sust]

It could also be that no one really knows why they do what they do, but they have compared it to something else and found it to be superior. Someone smarter than me will have to comment on the proposed mechanism of action for the combo.

 

[bobdole369]

aspirin thins the blood. Maybe something about that?

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: Rockinacoustic
I'm not sure why two NSAID's can't be taken simultaneously though.

NSAID's have the same mechanism of action (COX inhibitors), thus taking multiples increases the side effects and won't be good for your kidneys.