In this case, ibuprofen.
Ibuprofen is an NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. In other words a painkiller, and one of the weaker NSAIDs, so, at low doses, it carries the risk of fewer side effects.
So we have so-called specific pain meds here, which all have exactly the same proportion of the active ingredient – ibuprofen – being sold for an inflated price. Great marketing!
One of the good things I learned in my health service years was about genetic prescribing.
A few years ago I had an Internet ‘discussion’ with a friend about Zovirax, a treatment for cold sores on the lips.
I pointed out that Morrisons’ own brand was half the price.
‘No, no! Zovirax is the real thing. It’s much better.’
No, idiot. The active ingredient is exactly the same. I compared the friggin’ boxes. The pharmacist actually suggested the own brand one interestingly, and when I started asking she said the AI was exactly the same. I still needed to check, mind.
The point is, people really need to wise up on active ingredients not marketing. Read. The. Label.
Well done Australia. And, when will the British government do anything? Sometime never.
List of companies owned by Reckitt. Who, obviously test on animals. A company to avoid.
roughseasinthemed
Clouds moving in 
I have had Herpes Simplex 1 most all of my life; Dad had it too. I have tried every imaginable over-the-counter treatment avialable in the U.S. and every single one of them had a minimum of 3-4 days pain, discomfort, and ugliness until actual healing then scabbing. Several of them, e.g. Abreva, are expensive even overly expensive. They are a waste of time and money compared to one specific treatment I learned about over 10-years ago.
The herpes virus cannot replicate once the infected nerve-cells come in contact with a highly oxgenated environment… or simply cheap Hydrogen Peroxide. Hydrogen Peroxide destroys the lipid membrane of the virus and causes it to not only stop growing, but quickly KILLS the virus in 2-days or less if caught and treated in the first stage of shedding, or the earliest tingling itchy sensations.
My own lengthy research and homework not only landed me a far quicker better method of treatment, but also gave me excellent preventative routines to greatly reduce outbreaks… which are now maybe once every 3-5 years(?), sometimes longer! 🙂
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Zovirax is acyclovir or something spelled like that. What I forgot to add, was, in the case of herpes, we just use vodka. Vodka is like domestos. Kills all known germs. Or in this case, kills off cold sores, mouth ulcers, and toothache. The classic oral medicine. Should you choose to swallow, it even tastes nice.
I do wonder how many of these outbreaks, herpes and mouth ulcers are stress related …
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In my case, almost 95% – 100% of the time.
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Pretty much most of our (ie mine and Partners) reactions are stress related, he’s still doing voodoo symbols at his sister for getting a cold sore and not telling anyone so they all shared the same towels.
It’s so visible. I backed out of a directors meeting when I had one 😦
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Now, if I have hydrogen peroxide & a needle handy, my discomfort (and embarrassment) lasts no more than 1.5 days. My self-discovered researched Rx is a wonderful thing and I recommend it to anyone. 🙂
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As do I the vodka
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I once read an article in The Grauniad about the placebo effect of branded over-the-counter painkillers. It seems from trials that believing Nurofen is better than generic Ibuprofen results in a subjective response of greater pain relief. Hardly news really, as the placebo effect is well documented.
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I lose patience at this point. Sure the placebo effect is well-documented, but when people are actually buying over the counter meds, are they really so stupid? Apparently yes. And, I probably would have been too if hadn’t worked in the NHS. Well, not strictly true. As I never bought anything anyway.
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“. . . when people are actually buying over the counter meds, are they really so stupid?” – Well, yes; the sickening power of marketing strikes again: pay 32 pence for 16 generic Ibuprofen tablets or £2.49 for the same thing in a different pack labelled ‘Nurofen’. Pass the morphine!
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Imagine where the big pharma companies would be if everyone didn’t believe in nurofen or Zovirax!!
But this is sheer rubbish. Why is it even allowed? Which is why Australia is at least, doing something.
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“Why is it even allowed?
It’s the miracle of unregulated Capitalism Kate, to which principle we all must surely subscribe for our own good.
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Sorry. I forgot to say the question was rhetorical.
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I know; I just wanted to sprinkle a bit of cynicism on the cake.
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Such tasty sprinkles (as one of my favourite author writes referring to bedbugs!)
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Yes, the pharmacists here always ask do you want the generic brand. I’m always looking for alternatives, not the generic brand type but non-pharmaceutical. The G.O. if he needs an anti-inflammatory can only tolerate a small amount. We go for an arnica – aspirin cream produced by a compounding chemist near TA. Compounding chemists used to be quite common but now with the proliferation of Big Pharma, sadly not.
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That’s pretty sound. I’ve only bought a couple of things in the last, er, 50 years. I’ve usually found a better non pharma alternative. Had to laugh when my very Catholic neighbour recommended gin for kidney stones, but ‘don’t let her drink too much’! And, it works !!
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Bravo, Australia. Capitalism will always triumph over consumer here in the land of the free (to be greedy).
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Well, at least your insurance-based health care means you are quite savvy about things. More so than Brits who just take whatever they are given cos it’s ‘free’.
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I wonder if that’s true. I imagine it is for people with chronic conditions, but on average I’m not so sure.
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I’m going on forums and dog owners, but Americans seem very savvy about what is in what brand, what it does and etc. not that I’m advocating insurance-based health care in a millisecond!
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We have several brands, including store brands, of Ibuprofen here. The store brands are always cheaper and almost always the same concentration of the same active ingredient. Cold remedies, too. Then we have these pain relievers that are supposedly body-part specific. Like Excedrin Migraine, or Excedrin Back and Body Pain. I have a bottle of Excedrin Migraine in front of me because a friend swears by how great they are. It’s Acetaminophen, Caffeine, and Aspirin. The two Excedrins have the exact same active ingredients, but are packaged differently. They are exactly the same as Excedrin Extra Strength – packaged yet again differently. All three for a different price. Smh…
The three of those are more expensive than the Goody’s headache powders I normally take at a lower price and have less concentration of the active ingredients for pain relief. Go figure.
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I got a pack of ibuprofen when I left hospital plus something else, can’t remember what, but I gave them to Pippa anyway for his arthritis. (It’s ok they were dog approved, my vet prescribed them at one point). I don’t do the painkiller thing. I’d like to know how long it takes for headaches to go off compared with how long it takes ibu to kick in. But, I don’t get migraines, which might be different.
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I don’t take anything at the first sign of a headache. I don’t get migraines the way some people do. I get severe hormonal headaches the first and last day of my period. Sometimes they last a couple of days, so basically the whole thing. It depends whether it’s a dull headache or a severe headache as to whether I take anything. I have found, though, that since I’ve been running/walking every day they are less severe. I might wake up with a headache and by the time I’m done with my walk it’s gone. If it lasts more than a few hours, though, I know it’s not going anywhere without help.
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Oh. That. I just felt sick, had vile pains and thought I was going to pass out. Ibu might have helped I suppose. I tried to go swimming and limit liquid intake, but in all honesty the pill probably helped most. The change helped even more.
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Yeah. That. I’ve never had debilitating cramps like some women get. Just that godawful headache. Sometimes it lifts with Ibu/Acetaminophen and sometimes it doesn’t. What has helped the most for me is exercise. These days most of the time the headache is gone by the time I’ve finished walking or running. Sometimes it still just hangs on, though. Bummer.
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Cramps were vilissimo. Not so much headache as nausea and just bleugh. No way would I gave ever gone for pregnancy!! Sounded like periods but worse !! I think the exercise does work, but it’s timing it right. I used to have to get up,about 6.30 for my Saturday job which involved lifting (55 lbs) and standing around to sell food, felt too sick to eat, didn’t dare drink, and just felt soooo flaky. Didn’t help that I was irregular pre pill days. Just. Yuk.
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I buy the Co-Op’s own brand of Ibuprofen and it’s just the same and a hell of a lot cheaper.
When I worked in a shop and a customer asked for ‘Nurofen’ I always pointed them in the direction of the cheaper tablets. Some people bought them and were grateful for the saving; however, many also insisted on the named brand as being better.
If I have a very bad headache or migraine, I take Ibuprofen along with Paracetamol and they work wonders together. 😀
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Jessie! Hi, how are you? I’m still following but not seen any stories in ages 😦 How goes the writing?
Conditioning about brand names is weird, but to be fair, had I not worked with pharmacists on generic prescribing issues, I would probably have been the same 😦
I’ve never taken painkillers but after the broken ankle last year, I did ask for some the night following the op, I think it was Ibu plus para. With, morphine in reserve if that didn’t work. They discharged me with a pack of ibuprofen that I thought I’d never use – until I got kidney stones. I couldn’t shovel them in fast enough.
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You’d be surprised how little people do know about the meds their doctors prescribe and the nasty side-effects most of them have.
Generic manufacturers are able to sell their products for lower prices because they are not required to repeat the costly clinical trials of new drugs and generally do not pay for costly advertising, marketing, and promotion. Generic drugs are required to have the same active ingredient, strength, dosage form, and route of administration as the brand name product.
For my fibromyalgia and his arthritis hubby always get K-fenac. The active ingredient is diclofenac. The other products are twice the price of this generic product and it works just as well. Unfortunately I can’t drink it every day as it messes up my colon and stomach, but I do drink it when I can’t handle the pain. Morphine would have been nice if it wasn’t so addictive. 😛
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I think Americans are well informed about drugs, mind you, they do seem to take a lot of them. I’m sure British people often throw away the information leaflets, when they’re provided. They are written in such tiny print too. When Pippa was prescribed drugs for tick disease and arthritis, I was all over the Internet like a bad smell looking up info.
I think the issue about R&D is that manufacturers have to rely heavily on those first few years when they have a monopoly and can sell at a premium price, and meanwhile they are already working on the next hoped-for miracle (huh) drug.
Re: morphine, The Arb’s links about it on the previous post are worth a read.
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