Ibuprofen Structure
Aleve Vs Ibuprofen
If you’ve got a serious headache and other body pains then one of the quickest solutions is to resort to the use of pain killers. In this connection, there are many types of pain relievers being circulated in the market today. Aleve and Ibuprofen, although two dissimilar medications, are used for almost the same range of purposes ‘“ pain alleviation or reduction.
Foremost, Aleve is actually a popular brand name of the chemical compound Naproxen while Ibuprofen is just a generic name which serves as the chemical compound used in popular Ibuprofen brands like Advil and Motrin.
Ibuprofen is classified as one of the drugs belonging to the NSAID group or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. It acts by stopping the released prostaglandins that are made available because of an existing injury or inflammatory response and also inhibits the actual release of prostaglandin. Because of its mechanism of action, it thereby helps in decreasing overall inflammation, pain and even controls fever. It can be bought as an over the counter drug with preparation usually at 200mg and 400mg. Other stronger doses are available but on a prescription basis.
Aleve, a Naproxen Sodium drug, is another NSAID that is usually taken by arthritis patients. Aside from this, Aleve is also used as an OTC medication to relieve standard pain symptoms of menstrual cramping, migrant headaches and other forms of aches.
The two drugs as NSAIDS share the same disadvantage of increasing one’s risk for heart attack and stroke, if used all too frequently. The two can also induce gastric (stomach) bleeding because of their irritating chemical properties. Nevertheless, Aleve is thought to induce drowsiness and constipation among its users.
With regard to the length of therapeutic drug action, Naproxen (Aleve) seems to be the winner. Given almost the same dosing of Ibuprofen and Aleve, the effect of the latter lasts quite longer (8-12 hours) compared to the former (4-8 hours).
Although this is a pretty much subjective claim, many would agree that Aleve or Naproxen drugs have better pain killing effects most especially if you look it on a per dose basis. Aleve 375 mg may have a longer and more powerful effect than a 400mg Ibuprofen.
- Aleve is a brand name while Ibuprofen is a generic name.
- Aleve’s effects last longer compared to Ibuprofen’s.
- Ibuprofen is said to induce more gastric irritation compared to Aleve.
- Aleve is primarily used for arthritic pains unlike Ibuprofen.