Tylenol vs. Motrin- what's the difference?

lauren&matt

When do  you give dc Tylenol and when do you give them Motrin? 

I have both and was just wondering.

 

kelbrian

I hardly ever give Tylenol. Motrin is my go-to for teething; Tylenol seems to do nothing but make her hyper. 

mbs427

Motrin is great for inflammation and aches (perfect for teething) and Tylenol seems to work best for fevers and pain. 

With teething, I usually rotate between the two.

MrsJuneHawk

Motrin is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory agent) and Tylenol is an anitpyretic and analgesic.  I have never given Liev Motrin, always Tylenol because even though Motrin does work with the fever it's technically for aches and pains because it reduces or prevents swelling.  It all makes sense in my head.

liz606

Motrin lasts longer--6 to 8 hours versus 3 with Tylenol.

I treat almost exclusively with Motrin for this reason.

JARbaby

MrsJuneHawk:

Motrin is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory agent) and Tylenol is an anitpyretic and analgesic.  I have never given Liev Motrin, always Tylenol because even though Motrin does work with the fever it's technically for aches and pains because it reduces or prevents swelling.  It all makes sense in my head.

Tylenol for fever

Motrin for pain

Alternate for teething. Pedi said alternate every 3 hours for C's virus last week.

cville-rn

Some pedis I work with told me that studies have shown early use of tylenol can lead to asthma later. They haven't found that with motin- so I use motrin.

katydid2007

pedi told me that motrin tends to relieve pain better than tylenol, so that's what we use. It's also been effective in reducing a fever for us (just this past weekend actually). 

Tylenol has always bothered me for some reason.  I used to take it after I drank in college to prevent a hangover the next day only to find out years later that it can cause serious liver damage when taken after drinking alcohol. Great. Now, recently, there have been news reports about tylenol causing liver damage. I'm sure that it's not a big deal unless taken excessively, and I would still use Tylenol here and there for myself and DS but overall, those kinds of things make me just generally defer to Motrin.