Thousands of people across the county are finding themselves suffering from a 'new lurgy'. Although the illness is not Covid, many people are experiencing similar unpleasant symptoms as the winter bug continues to spread whilst temperatures drop.
People have been sharing their symptoms on social media, with many unsure of the best course of action to take in treating themselves, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. Abbas Kanani, the superintendent pharmacist at Chemist Click, has explained which of the two is most helpful and debunked a common misconception about the painkillers reports The Daily Mirror.
He said: "Paracetamol is probably more effective at bringing down temperature, so it's almost like a double-whammy, you get rid of your headache and bring your temperature down. But if you feel that you have more body aches, that's your main symptom, then ibuprofen is probably slightly better as it's an anti-inflammatory."
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Mr Kanani goes on to warn people to be careful when taking ibuprofen, as many are allergic to the class of drug that it belongs to. However, he claims most people are unaware that you can take the two medicines together when you're feeling really bad.
He explained: "If you feel that one isn't enough you can take ibuprofen as well as paracetamol, you can take them together. A lot of people don't know that it's not one or the other, you can put them together as they work in different ways."
Both of these medicines help with aches, pains and temperatures, in addition to mild cold and flu symptoms, but they won't do much for coughs or nasal congestion. For those specific symptoms Mr Kanani has warned people they will need to use dedicated cold and flu products instead.
Such as medicines that contain a decongestant, which would be best for a blocked nose, and an expectorant for mucus coughs and a cough suppressant for a dry, tickly cough. However, when taking cold and flu medicines be sure to always check the packet and leaflet to see what other products you can safely take with them, as while you can double up on paracetamol and ibuprofen, you may not be able to take or mix these with anything else.
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