How Does Ibuprofen Actually Work?
What happens inside your body after you pop an Advil
Hangovers, pulled muscles, menstrual cramps, the flu: Ibuprofen is the first line of defense for all sorts of things. You know the drug is working because it dulls the pain or takes the edge off a fever, but what, exactly, is making this happen?
Ibuprofen — brand name Advil, Motrin, and more — belongs to a class of drugs that physicians call nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. In practice, this means that ibuprofen relieves pain by blocking cells’ production of prostaglandins, one of several compounds responsible for inflammation — which is the body’s response to injury.
After an injury, the immune system rallies to prevent infection. As part of the body’s inflammatory response, damaged cells begin releasing arachidonic acid, a natural chemical that latches onto cyclooxygenase, an enzyme that helps create compounds necessary for blood flow. Together, they produce what’s called prostaglandin H2 — ibuprofen’s primary target.
Prostaglandins do helpful things, such as forming or removing blood clots, but they also cause pain in the process. “When you have something like a bruise or a headache or a cut, prostaglandins are created in those areas and basically cause that throbbing feeling and sometimes warmth around…
