Thousands of people across Ireland have been coming down with nasty flu symptoms as winter bugs continue to do the rounds this Christmas season.
Although for most, the illness is not Covid, there are plenty of people experiencing similarly unpleasant symptoms as temperatures drop.
Many have been taking to social media to list their symptoms asking for advice because they’re unsure of the best course of action to take in treating themselves - such as whether to take paracetamol or ibuprofen.
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Abbas Kanani, the superintendent pharmacist at Chemist Click, has explained which of the two is more helpful in tackling the symptoms and has even debunked a common misconception about painkillers.
He explained: "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."
Mr. Kanani went 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 particularly rough.
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 high 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 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, an expectorant for mucus coughs, and a cough suppressant for a dry, tickly cough.
However, when taking cold and flu medicines, 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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