Ibuprofen might seem like just another drug that you have no idea how it works or what it's for - in fact, before writing this article I didn't even know what it was! What if I told you Advil, the drug that kills your headaches, muscle aches, and mild pain was actually Ibuprofen. Everyone has taken Advil at least once in their life to cure a headache or to relieve pain. Ibuprofen is a drug widely used at all ages but the consumer knows absolutely nothing about it, for example: how it works, how it is made, the side effects and even whether it is worth taking. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The goal of this article is to educate consumers about the world-famous painkiller, ibuprofen; who created the drug, how ibuprofen works, its uses, how it is made, what it is made of, the main manufacturers of the drug and the disadvantages of using this product. Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (a drug that reduces swelling and relieves pain) ("Ibuprofen | Encyclopedia. com," n.d.). In the scientific community, ibuprofen is known as methyl propyl phenyl propanoic acid. Its active ingredient (the “biologically” active ingredient) is the chemical ibuprofen (“Ibuprofen”, 2018). Chemical substances are made up of a fixed proportion of atoms arranged in a certain way. The chemical formula is like the list of ingredients on a package of cookies, it tells you all the ingredients and how much of each ingredient is present (“Chemical Formula,” n.d.). The chemical formula of ibuprofen is C13H18O2, this tells us that ibuprofen is made up of thirteen carbon atoms, eighteen hydrogen atoms, and two oxygen atoms ("Chemical Formula", n.d.). We use chemical formulas to help describe certain elements and molecules; they give us a basic understanding of a chemical substance before we know what it is (“Chemical Formula,” n.d.). In conclusion, chemical formulas tell us about the ratios of elements in a chemical substance making them easier to understand. When ibuprofen was created, it was revolutionary because it was one of the first over-the-counter (OTC) medications in over a generation, and even more effective than aspirin for pain relief. Over-the-counter medications are drugs that you can purchase without a prescription ("Ibuprofen | Encyclopedia. com," n.d.). Thanks to Ibuprofen it has paved the way for future over-the-counter medications, without over-the-counter medications over 60 million Americans would not seek treatment for their disease (“OTC Use Statistics,” n.d.). Ibuprofen was the first over-the-counter pain reliever to enter pharmacies in over a generation, the main non-subscription pain reliever was aspirin, introduced in 1899 but is much less effective than ibuprofen ("Ibuprofen | Encyclopedia. com, "nd). Ibuprofen was developed by Boots Laboratories (a British drug manufacturer and retailer). They identified the soothing pain-relieving agent in aspirin called carboxylic acid ("Ibuprofen | Encyclopedia. com," n.d.). Boots Laboratories studied carboxylic acids further and found one twice as strong as that of aspirin. They synthesized and tested more than 600 compounds created from these acids, the most active of these was propanoic acid, which was chosen for clinical testing, however, it was unsuccessful ("Ibuprofen | Encyclopedia. com," n.d. ). Finally, they turned to other compounds they had synthesized from phenyl alkanoic acids, which appeared to offer broader anti-inflammatory properties ("Ibuprofen | Encyclopedia. com," n.d.). Eventually, they came across Ibuprofen (methyl propyl phenyl acidpropanoic) which began selling in 1964 in the United Kingdom, as a prescription drug, Brufen, then in the United States in 1974, and was approved for sale over the counter in smaller doses ("Ibuprofen | Encyclopedia.com," n.d.). Ibuprofen was an incredibly influential drug when it was first discovered and remains so today. Ibuprofen is a widely mass-produced drug, made and manufactured by thousands of companies, one of the largest of these, Pfizer, which is the parent company of Advil ("Pfizer," 2018). Pfizer is a pharmaceutical company based in New York and was founded over 169 years ago (“Pfizer,” 2018). Pfizer also makes more drugs and medications than just ibuprofen. When Pfizer makes Advil, it makes sure its formula is kept top secret, but there are some basic ideas about how it's made. First, the raw materials are shipped to the factory where they are processed en masse (Advil Tablet Manufacturing Process, 2012). They are subsequently granulated and then covered with a layer of sugar (this has the aim of increasing the satisfaction of the product so that the consumer can reuse it); then the tablets are polished and stapled with the Advil logo (Advil Tablet Manufacturing Process, 2012). Advil and other Ibuprofen products are recommended for mild pain such as headaches, muscle aches, back pain, menstrual pain, minor arthritis and other joint pain, aches and pains due to the common cold, toothaches, migraines, aches and pains. joints and surprisingly high doses can help slow lung disease ("Cystic Fibrosis: Ibuprofen Associated With Slower Lung Function Decline In Children, Study Suggests," 2018). Although ibuprofen has many positive aspects, people constantly overdose due to using it too often. If you consistently take ibuprofen, your body's pain threshold will be much lower than the average person. Ibuprofen may seem magical to most people, but when you take it there is a lot of science to discover. When cells are damaged they release a chemical called arachidonic acid (How Ibuprofen Works, 2012). Two enzymes are known as COX-1 and COX-2 break down arachidonic acid and form prostaglandin H2 (How Ibuprofen Works, 2012). This is then converted into TXA2, PGD2, PGE2 and PGF2, these chemicals increase body temperature, cause inflammation and lower the body's pain threshold (How Ibuprofen Works, 2012). When nociceptors receive pain above this threshold, they send signals to the brain which then stimulates pain (How Ibuprofen Works, 2012). The moment you take an ibuprofen medication, your stomach breaks it down and it is then absorbed into the bloodstream where it then sticks. the two enzymes COX-1 and COX-2 block the entry of arachidonic acid into the bloodstream preventing the pain signal from progressing further. It has been shown that if you take it too often it has a huge effect on your hearing, bones and kidneys (How Ibuprofen Works, 2012). Not to mention that NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), if taken too often, increase the risk of heart attack and heart problems by 33% ("Ibuprofen Risks You Need to Know", 2017). Another recent study involving 10 million people found that those currently taking an NSAID had a 19% higher risk of being hospitalized for heart failure, and NSAID users also have a higher chance of internal bleeding (" Ibuprofen Risks You Need to Know", 2017). Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay On top of that, ibuprofen and over-the-counter drugs kill over 100,000 people in the United States alone (“Ibuprofen Kills Thousands.