# Aleve the same as Vicodin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aleve-the-same-as-vicodin/218839 "2003-12-13T22:44:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aleve-the-same-as-vicodin/218839/21 "2003-12-16T06:50:34Z")
Sometime during the sixties codeine was taken out of OTC cough syrups and replaced with DXM,didn’t really work at stopping recreational use though. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aleve-the-same-as-vicodin/218839/22 "2003-12-16T06:52:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by danceswithcats \* > \*\*In addition to those mentioned, Paregoric was OTC when I was a little cat. Folk used to use it for numbing the gums of teething children, and also dealing with diarrhea. It’s now a component or Donnagel-PG and Parepectolin, both anti-diarrheal meds. \*\* According to the federal law, drugs of that type, i.e. milder narcotic meds such as those you mentioned, some codeine cough syrups, and the like are Schedule V, accordingly the “mildest” level of control. There’s actually nothing in the federal law that makes those drugs prescription only; it merely says they have to be dispensed by the pharmacist and that the patient has to sign a register when purchasing. However, most states have stricter laws that require a prescription. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aleve-the-same-as-vicodin/218839/23 "2003-12-16T06:58:20Z")
There’s a reason some drugs like ibuprofen start out as prescription only. Sometimes they’re very hard on the liver and other internal organs, and after protracted overuse one can find oneself very sick indeed, even though the drug in question isn’t addictive and doesn’t seem to carry any typical “dangerous drug” characteristics. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Meister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Der\_Meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Meister)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aleve-the-same-as-vicodin/218839/24 "2003-12-16T07:09:27Z")
Sort of on the same topic, but last week there was a mandatory manufacture recall on the plain Robitussin tablets. We can’t dispense it anymore. People can still get the same strength in other medications, but they recalled the plain Robitussin medication. Anyone know why? It was Guaifenesin 600 mg I believe. ---
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aleve-the-same-as-vicodin/218839/25 "2003-12-16T07:21:10Z")
I have heard about women using Guaifenesin in the hope it wil boost fertility by thinning cervical mucus,could that have soemthing to do with it? ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aleve-the-same-as-vicodin/218839/26 "2003-12-16T14:43:38Z")
Maybe too many of us were taking the 'tussin … expect a run on grapefruit juice (another cervical fluid thinner) next … ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aleve-the-same-as-vicodin/218839/27 "2003-12-16T17:35:20Z")
Actually, Aleve is not sold at all in Canada. Naproxen is prescription only. Two Aleve is the equivalent of one Naproxen pill and I do use it occasionally that way, buying it in the US. It is a useful anti-inflammatory. 222’s are codeine plus aspirin and a third ingredient (maybe caffeine). They are indeed available OTC here and it is nice having them. There are also 232’s,…,292’s with increasing amounts of codeine, but they are prescription only. Why the difference? Who knows? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aleve-the-same-as-vicodin/218839.md?page=1)