Tuesday's Tip: Pain relievers

I've been having a lot of headaches lately (not a good thing--last year I made it at least until October before I started getting them regularly and it was at least November before they were an almost daily occurrence), so I've had reason to be looking at bottles of pain relieving substances lately.  I happen to have both Excedrin (because they paid me to take it) and Excedrin Migraine (because it was free) in my medicine cabinet right now, and the other day I decided to read the labels to find out what the difference is. 

Guess what I found out! 

They're exactly the same!  Same active ingredients in the same amounts.  Same inactive ingredients, too.  I would say what's up with that, but I already know what's up with that: marketing.  The only difference between the two that I found (aside from the pills being differently shaped because one is geltabs and the other is gelcaps) was the warning, on the migraine variety, not to take it if your headaches hadn't been diagnosed as migraines.  Well, alrighty then.  I'll be sure to keep that in mind.

Anyway, on to today's tip.  Did you know that you can alternate doses of ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) and acetaminophen (Tylenol)?  The different medications have different mechanisms, so it's safe to take both at the same time (but don't take my word for it--be sure to ask your doctor is this is safe for you). 

If you have a really tough headache, or a high fever that doesn't respond to just Tylenol or just Motrin, take a dose of one (I usually start with Tylenol, because it usually works better for me), wait 3 hours, then take a dose of the other, wait 3 hours, and continue as needed.  Just be sure to follow the maximum dosage guidelines for each of the medications to avoid overdosing.  It's important to note that you shouldn't alternate meds every time you have pain or a fever--this is only if the pain or fever does not respond to a single medicine--sometimes you just don't want to wait the full 4 to 6 or 6 to 8 hours until you can have another dose of pain meds.

Bonus tip: Mom of the Wild Things swears by Tylenol and room temperature Coca Cola for relieving headaches.  The Tylenol works on the pain, and the caffeine in the coke speeds up the relief.  Makes sense to me!

And before you go, just a reminder: you have until Monday, September 19 to submit your dessert recipes for the Accidental Dessert contest.  Just leave a comment on this post: Mmmm. A Contest.  Hubby asked me last night if I'm going to make the winning recipe.  Maybe.  As long as it's not a beer float. As of right now, it's looking like my brother is going to win. Again. Remember, if you don't have a blogger profile, you can just choose the "name/URL" option from the "comment as" drop down menu--you don't need to enter an URL.  Oh, and Chip: any prize ideas yet? :)

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Alternate, more detailed instructions for entering:
1. Click here, and allow the page to load.
2. Scroll down to almost the bottom, where it says "Post a Comment" with a box beneath.  Click in the box.
3. Type your recipe in the box.
4. Under the box, there is a drop down menu next to the words: "Comment as."  Click on the little down arrow and choose "Name/URL" which is second from the bottom.
5. A box will pop up.  Type your name in the box where it says "name."  Ignore the box that says "URL."
6. Click on "continue"
7. Click on "post comment"
8. A preview box will pop up, scroll down to the bottom, where it says "word verification."
9. Just below "Word verification" there will be some silly looking letters.  Type the letters into the box underneath them.
10. Click on "post comment"
11. The page will reload, and you should see your comment under all the other comments.
12. Reward yourself with a piece of good quality chocolate.