Is it possible that paracetamol + ibuprofene is much better for fever than ibuprofene alone? If yes, how?

Question

I have read that paracetamod+ibuprofene (P+I) is not much better than ibuprofene alone (IA).

However I noticed that P+I is better than IA for fever, for me. I wonder if it is possible that there are some genetic or other individual factors that would explain why I noticed that P+I is better for fever (and related muscle aches ) than IA.

The background story is the following: I took 1600 mg Ibuprofen in the last 18 hours and my muscle ache and fever (37,3) did noe want to go away (I got some viral upper respiratory infection). Then I took paracetamol 500 mg and 1 hour after that I started sweating and suddenly got much better. Any idea why this might have happened ?

Related : https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/2440/is-it-better-to-take-a-half-dose-of-paracetamol-and-a-half-dose-of-ibuprofen-tog

Answer 1

Ibuprophen is an non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drug (NSAID). As it's name indicate, it reduces inflammation, which can reduce the discomfort of a fever.

Paracetamol (called Acetaminophen on my side of the pond) is an analgesic which reduces pain. While not an anti-inflammatory, it does help reduce the symptoms by cutting down on the amount of aching and fever that you feel.

This is a recommended combination when trying to manage mild to moderate pain without resorting to morphine or other opioid medication. A counter-indication to this combination is gastro-intestinal bleeding. Don't forget to follow the posologie and recommendations of each individual medication