Known brand names include Advil, Motrin, Ibu, Genpril, Addaprin, Proprinal, and Wal-Profen.
An NSAID that eases pain, fever, and inflammation. Prescription tablets treat arthritis, mild to moderate pain, and menstrual cramps. It can cause stomach bleeding and raises the risk of heart attack and stroke, so the lowest dose for the shortest time is used.
Ibuprofen is thought to work by blocking the enzyme that makes prostaglandins, chemicals that drive pain, fever, and inflammation. With less prostaglandin, there is less pain and swelling. In menstrual cramps, it lowers prostaglandin levels in menstrual fluid and reduces the pressure and frequency of contractions of the uterus. Exactly how it works is not completely understood.
It is absorbed quickly, reaching peak blood levels in 1 to 2 hours, and the body clears half of it in about 2 hours. It also makes platelets less sticky, but this effect is weaker, shorter, and reversible compared with aspirin. Because some people's kidneys rely on prostaglandins to keep blood flowing, it can harm the kidneys, and it can cause bleeding or ulcers in the stomach or intestines without warning. Like other NSAIDs, it raises the risk of heart attack and stroke, which can begin early in treatment.
Ibuprofen eases the pain, tenderness, swelling, and stiffness of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. In osteoarthritis the joint lining breaks down, and in rheumatoid arthritis it becomes swollen. It also relieves mild to moderate pain and eases menstrual cramps, the pain that comes before or during a period.
These prescription tablets are taken by mouth, and they can be taken with food or milk to avoid stomach upset. It is meant to be used at the lowest dose that works, for the shortest time that fits the treatment goals. It is not used around heart bypass surgery or in people who have had asthma, hives, or allergic reactions after aspirin or other NSAIDs. It has not been tested in controlled trials in children.
Upset stomach is the most common side effect: nausea, stomach pain, heartburn, diarrhea, and bloating, along with dizziness, headache, and rash. The label's boxed warning treats heart attack and stroke as serious risks, along with bleeding, ulcers, and tears in the stomach or intestines that can happen without warning. It also warns about high blood pressure, heart failure, kidney damage, liver injury, serious skin and allergic reactions, and harm to an unborn baby later in pregnancy.
This is the boxed warning, the warning the FDA label prints first.
Cardiovascular thrombotic events: NSAIDs raise the risk of serious, possibly fatal heart attack and stroke, which may start early in treatment and grow with longer use; contraindicated around CABG surgery. Gastrointestinal risk: NSAIDs raise the risk of serious, possibly fatal GI bleeding, ulcers, and perforation, which can occur at any time without warning; older adults are at greater risk.
Sources: [1]