# Worldwide Dopers: do you take aspirin for headaches? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767 "2009-09-27T19:11:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/41 "2009-10-01T16:24:22Z")
> [@Neverending\_Elbow](#): > > An important thing to note is that it has to be water from _ogórki kiszone_ and not _ogórki konserwowe_, a difference difficult to get trough in English as both terms are translated as ‘pickled’. Technically, you can call the former “fermented pickles” or “natural fermentation pickles” or “lactic acid fermented pickles.” They’re colloquially known “Jewish deli-style pickles,” or “half-sours” (at least all the half-sours I’ve had were of the fermented variety) but that only helps if your audience is familiar with Jewish delis. My parents actually never drew the distinction after coming here to the US, using “ogórki kiszone” for any form of pickled cucumber. The “ogórki konserwowe” are more familiar to American consumers, as those are cucumbers pickled in a vinegar brine, rather than left to naturally ferment and develop that characteristic sweet-sourness of lactic acid bacteria. ---
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/42 "2009-10-01T16:55:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Technically, you can call the former “fermented pickles” or “natural fermentation pickles” or “lactic acid fermented pickles.” They’re colloquially known “Jewish deli-style pickles,” or “half-sours” (at least all the half-sours I’ve had were of the fermented variety) but that only helps if your audience is familiar with Jewish delis. Maybe the half-sours are what is known as _ogórki małosolne_ which are the fermented type taken out early (after just a few days, I believe). Not a big fan of those as they taste too much like fresh cucumbers, which I abhor, although I love all properly pickled types. 🙂 From aspirin usage to various cucumber pickling techniques - a hijack of the WTH variety. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/43 "2009-10-01T18:30:19Z")
> [@Neverending\_Elbow](#): > > Maybe the half-sours are what is known as _ogórki małosolne_ which are the fermented type taken out early (after just a few days, I believe). Not a big fan of those as they taste too much like fresh cucumbers, which I abhor, although I love all properly pickled types. 🙂 > > From aspirin usage to various cucumber pickling techniques - a hijack of the WTH variety. 😃 Yeah, there’s also full-sours, which are the same thing, fermented longer. Didn’t know of the _ogórki małosolne_, but they do sound like half-sours to me, although it sounds like the Polish type may be taken out earlier. I’ll have to pay more attention at the Polish delis, to see if they sell different gradations here, too. Usually, there’s just two lined 5-to-10-gallon bins, one filled with pickles, the other with sauerkraut. I love the pickle soup mama would make (and still makes) out of them. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/44 "2009-10-05T23:50:25Z")
Aspirin seems like stuff my dad takes. I take a synergistic combination of a tylenol and an ibuprofen. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/45 "2009-10-05T23:58:55Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > [Reye’s syndrome](http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/reyes_syndrome/reyes_syndrome.htm) > My parents never gave me aspirin as a kid, so I never got in the habit of using it. I use ibuprofen for anything inflammatory, and Tylenol/acetaminophen/paracetamol for fever and flu symptoms. I almost never get headaches, but when I do, I usually use ibuprofen. I call it Vitamin I, although I’ve had to become much more judicious about using it since I started having stomach issues. I don’t get headaches other than hangover headaches or dehydration, so I don’t usually take anything. I am in the US though. Butting in about the Reye’s Syndrome- my dad HATED that my mom wouldn’t give me asprin for fevers when I was a kid, and I got a lot of them. Asprin was about a tenth of the price of anything else. With lottery odds, he was fine on the gamble. I didn’t care, I just wanted the damn fever to go away. I have given my daughter Aasprin one time, when I had nothing else and wasn’t going to leave her feverish little self alone, but I haven’t done it again. I keep a stock now. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/46 "2009-10-07T06:36:17Z")
Here (being Pakistan) we take disprin ( a soluble tablet) for small stuff and paracetamol or brufen if something stronger is needed. In addition children are given a frug called Luprin, which is often colloquially called “baby asprin”. I have never seen disprin outside of Pakistan…ever. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/47 "2009-10-07T13:04:48Z")
Too much aspirin was dosed during the WWI era Spanish Flu epidemic. If too much is used, it apparently promotes fluid in the lungs. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/48 "2009-10-07T15:16:16Z")
> [@C3](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever taken aspirin for a headache (I’m in the U.S.). Years ago, I would have taken Tylenol, but now my go-to is Excedrin, which is a combination of aspirin, acetaminophen, & caffeine. Works like a charm. When we moved to Australia, we brought a big jumbo-sized bottle with us. We offered them up to our friends one morning, after a particularly long night on the piss. They referred to them as the miracle pills from then on. They were very impressed with the Excedrin. Me too. Aspirin alone does nothing for me, neither does Tylenol/acetominephin - but together with caffeine, they are magic. I’m an American, I can’t think of anybody I know who regularly uses plain aspirin for anything, except maybe as a blood thinner. Most people I know use Excedrin or ibuprofen (Advil). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/49 "2009-10-07T16:37:35Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > I’m an American, I can’t think of anybody I know who regularly uses plain aspirin for anything, except maybe as a blood thinner. Well, here’s one. Aspirin is my pain reliever of choice. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/50 "2009-10-07T19:09:44Z")
I use a full english breakfast for that kind of headache. 🙂 The only painkiller I’ve got in the house is paracetamol and I only use that once every 2 years when I’ve got nasty flu-type symptoms (slight fever, dizzyness, headache, swollen throat). ETA: I’m sure I’ve seen and used aspirin as a kid, but I haven’t seen it anywhere in years (while I have noticed paracetamol and ibuprofen) - but as you may have guessed I’m not really taking much notice of OTC painkillers. I’m Dutch. ---
**Author:** ![silvermist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@silvermist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silvermist)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/51 "2009-10-07T20:02:57Z")
Aspirin works for me but sometimes bothers my stomach. I like Tylenol. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/52 "2009-10-07T20:15:55Z")
I take a full-sized (325mg) tablet of Aspirin every day on instruction from my doctor. Not for headaches but as a blood thinner. Makes my Red Cross donations a breeze now! For headaches, I’ll take whatever is in my wife’s medicine cabinet. Usually it’s Ibuprofen, sometimes Tylenol. If none of those are available, I’ll take another aspirin. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/53 "2009-10-07T20:59:00Z")
> [@imfloating](#): > > In the southern U.S. it’s Goody’s Headache Powders. I ordered them by mail for years, but now they’re starting to show up in various pharmacies in the north probably due to the exposure they get with NASCAR. Or BC. That’s my powder of choice. I always keep a box of BC in my desk. Goody’s just tastes weird to me. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/54 "2009-10-08T02:59:28Z")
I’m surprised by how many people take tylenol (acetaminophen). As a side note, if you want to bring down a kid’s fever, ibuprofen might be a better choice than tylenol, since it has similar analgesic effects and is also anti-inflammatory (which Tylenol isn’t indicated for). Plus it’s found to be about as safe as Tylenol when it comes to Reyes. I have no cites handy for this, but I did just take a pharm exam on NSAIDs today… so does that count? No? When I was in Korea, I remember taking aspirin when I had a headache. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767/55 "2009-10-08T17:11:03Z")
American. Aspirin works for me for headaches (except sinus, for which nothing works) and just about any other pain. I’ve had elbow surgery, shoulder surgery, tooth extractions and gum work, and aspirin gets rid of the pain of all of them (although for the surgeries I took a prescription narcotic for maybe a day or two at first). I swear by the stuff. Acetanimophen does nothing for me. Absolutely nothing. Ibuprofen does nothing for me. Naproxen is okay for backaches and occasional prostate annoyance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worldwide-dopers-do-you-take-aspirin-for-headaches/511767.md?page=2)