Polite Dissent

Just to show I don’t only pick on bad medicine in comic books and TV, here is a brief look at an article in a major weekly publication.

In the back pages of this week’s Newsweek (January 31, 2005), there is a brief article on muscle soreness after exercise. The author states:

There’s no cure, but you can treat the soreness with an anti-inflammatory like Tylenol or Advil, or apply ice.

Wrong. While Advil (ibuprofen) is a good anti-inflammatory, Tylenol (acetaminophen) has absolutely no anti-inflammatory properties. (Ice is a fine choice.)

I find it puzzling that the author chose to list Advil and Tylenol solely by brand name. Generic names were not provided — which is the standard procedure in medical articles (like I did above). Both ibuprofen and acetaminophen have been available generically for a long time and are much cheaper that way. If only brand names are going to be listed, then why not at least mention Motrin IB, since it contains the identical medication that Advil does?

It’s very peculiar. This is a good example of why mass media is rarely a good source of medical information.