Doctors compare household painkillers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen, explaining their mechanisms and when each works best ...

Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are two of the most common over-the-counter pain relievers. Learn whether you can mix the two, as well as information about how they interact with other pain relievers.

Tylenol and NSAIDs both help with pain perception and fever, but the medications do have one key difference. Distinctly, Tylenol doesn’t have anti-inflammatory properties, ...

Unlike NSAIDs, acetaminophen won’t treat symptoms of inflammation like swelling or redness, Dr. McPherson said, which could cause the body to take longer to heal.

When we polled 195 X (formerly Twitter) users, 48.7 percent said they took ibuprofen, 25.6 percent said acetaminophen, and 12.3 percent opted for aspirin.

Acetaminophen and NSAIDs are often included in a lot of other sick-day remedies, like migraine medication, allergy pills or all-in-one cold and flu medicines, Twegbe says.

The pain relievers acetaminophen and ibuprofen are in several over-the-counter drugs. Some people even mistake the two. But they have specific purposes and can cause problems if you’re not careful.

"The combination of acetaminophen and NSAIDs has been shown to be more effective than either medication alone," Wu said. Oswald also spoke about this method, which she calls a "multimodal" approach.