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  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

What if Nurofen switch the codiene side?

Jabberwocky

Frumious Bandersnatch
Joined
Nov 3, 1999
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I am concerned that someone could die "if" Nurofen change the side on which the codiene is contained. I always have about 6 halfs of the N+ side first then wait for half and hour just to make sure that it is codiene.
Someone mentioned B4 that its impossible to happen without them changing other things like packaging etc.
Just imagine if someone took the wrong side and had 30 ibroprofen halfs>!!!! I think it would be a lot safer if perhaps we did CWE instead of just splitting the pills.
 
I won't speculate about the possibility of Nurofen Plus undergoing a change in formulation, or any accompanying aesthetic changes, but I think it is important for people to know a bit about ibuprofen overdose just incase something like that did occur.

Ibuprofen is a Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID), and is used to treat pain by reducing inflammation that may be the cause of the pain. It is in the same class of drug as celecoxib, naproxen and others.

ALWAYS read the back of your Nurofen Plus (or any medicine) box - this information is important because there are many people who should not use ibuprofen, and there is other important information about the medicine that should not be overlooked. Less than 5 minutes is not too much time to spend on reducing the risk of harm from taking a drug. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist if you have any concerns regarding what is written on the packet.


One should not consume more than 1200mg of ibuprofen in 24 hours. This is usually equivalent to 6 tablets, each containing 200mg of ibuprofen, but always check to see how much a tablet contains because the ibuprofen content could differ between brands.

If anyone is unfortunate enough to unwittingly consume a large amount of ibuprofen then they must first become aware of the fact that they have consumed it, and will hopefully know how much they have consumed too. Below are the MIMS listed symptoms of overdose and treatment recommendations, use these as a guide when you suspect overdose:

Symptoms. Clinical features which may result from overdose with ibuprofen are depression of the central nervous system and the respiratory system. Nausea, vomiting, epigastric pain, headache, tinnitus, ataxia, drowsiness, tremor and coma may also occur.

Treatment. In cases of acute overdose, the stomach should be emptied by vomiting or lavage, though little of the drug will likely be recovered if more than one hour has elapsed since ingestion. Because the drug is acidic and is excreted in the urine, it is theoretically beneficial to administer alkali and induce diuresis. In addition to supportive measures, the use of activated charcoal may help reduce the absorption of ibuprofen.

To put it in plain english, here is an ibuprofen overdose symptoms list from another source:

Symptoms & Signs of Ibuprofen Overdose

* body as a whole
o unsteadiness

* eyes, ears, nose, and throat
o ringing in the ears
o blurred vision

* gastrointestinal
o nausea and/or vomiting
o diarrhea
o stomach pain
o possible loss of blood in stomach and
intestinal areas

* nervous system
o headache
o agitation
o incoherence (not understandable)
o confusion
o coma
o drowsiness
Source


Most importantly, as soon as you SUSPECT or realise that overdose (accidental or deliberate) has occurred, immediately do the following:

In all cases of overdose, immediately call the Poisons Information Centre (phone: 13 11 26). Australia wide, 24 hours and 7 days a week.

Tell them the truth about what poison(s)/drug(s) has been consumed, and follow their advice.

I would also recommend a prompt visit to the hospital, but the Posions Information Centre's advice takes precedence over my own, and they will let you know what needs to be done, including a visit to hospital or to the doctor.


The Oral LD50 of Ibuprofen in Rats is 636 mg kg-1.

If anyone would like to expand on or add to this information please do so.
 
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Assumption is the mother of all fuckups - never assume that what you've always done will be the way it always is.

Two very excelent posts right here - top work! :)
 
if your concern you could use an ezy tester. At least then you could determine if the non-plus side contained an opiate. If it did then you could assume that they had worked out a way of combining them and thus avoid taking it.

on the other hand if the company is spreading the iburofen across both tablets, yet only putting the opiate on the plus side i guess everyone is kinda fucked.

but then again i suspect you would hear it first on this site people suffering from chronic iburofen posioning.

Doesn't it cause uclers and bleeding if used constantly/chronically?
 
My favourite way to double check is to use marquis reagent on the codeine side. Opiates turns pink.
*EDIT*chugs beat me to it

Also, I personally don't believe any company would dare do something like swap sides for the codeine. Even if they are allowed - and it says on the box, don't take more then 6 a day; they know for a fact we all cut and munch them, so they wouldnt put us in danger, no matter how stupid we're being. Besides, we create shitloads of their buisness.
 
charlesbronson said:
One should not consume more than 1200mg of ibuprofen in 24 hours. This is usually equivalent to 6 tablets, each containing 200mg of ibuprofen, but always check to see how much a tablet contains because the ibuprofen content could differ between brands.
I think this is unnessecarily over-cautious, 1600mg is the usual daily dosage (400mg, 4 times a day). Also, it's perfectly acceptable to use higher doses for severe/enduring pain and there is precedent for daily doses as high as 3200mg (usually in arthritic conditions).

Not sure what the 'fatal dosage area' is considered to be. You'd be surprised how secretive Pharmacists are about that sort of information.
 
Such a switch would have to be approved and endorsed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, and given the known abuse potential of Nurofen Plus, there's no way I could see them allowing a simple switch of active ingredients from one 'side' to the other. The TGA is a bureaucracy, and would look at wrapping pharmacists in more red tape to limit supply to potential abusers. CWE of codeine is a simple and well documented procedure and negates any switching of 'sides'.
 
a simple taste test should differentiate between the two. Codeine has a very distinctive, bitter taste...ibuprofen, well, just doesn't. Not sure what it tastes like. Either way, that's probably the simplest method (after marquis...not all of us have testing kits though)
 
^^^(tambourine-man) Yeah good point t-man.

I think this is unnessecarily over-cautious, 1600mg is the usual daily dosage (400mg, 4 times a day).

It is over-cautious, as you say there are indeed dosage regimes that range up to 3200mg daily, so it is by no means a case of "one should not consume >1200mg....".

However, it is probably overzealous to give 1600mg as the 'usual daily dose', given that:

a) The most commonly reported recommended dose in medicine handbooks does not exceed a total of 1200mg in 24hr.
b) One requirement that ibuprofen products must fulfil to be listed as Schedule 2 and hence be available over-the-counter is that they be "...labelled with a recommended daily dose of not more than 1,200mg of ibuprofen," as stated in the Guide to the Poisons Schedules (as at June 2003).

Given that the most common use of ibuprofen would be through non-prescription purchases and use of OTC ibuprofen products, it is probably fair to say that the usual dose would be consistent with advice written on the box and would be less than 1200mg daily.


I'd say there is good reason for such a limit to be published on the back of OTC ibuprofen products though. It is a matter of implementing harm-minimisation practices with licit drugs, which may be just as or more toxic/dangerous than illicit drugs. That is why ibuprofen products with a unit dose ibuprofen content of greater than 200mg are S4 prescription only products; because the safest way of benefitting from ibuprofen use at moderate and high dosages is in consultation with a health care professional. At the very least it might motivate people to do their own research if contemplating a higher dose, rather than taking for granted a large maximum dosage claim that could very well be unsuitable for them.

But yeah ofcourse that is not to say that higher dose regimes are not common, or that using greater than the S2 recommendation will kill you.


I don't think there is an abundance of readily available data on the human fatal dose (LD50) - perhaps they have left it to be extrapolated from data on rats. A quick search through PubMed or elsewhere might turn up a journal article on reported cases of fatality from ibuprofen.....


I'm sure if we made a pharmacist earn their keep by throwing a few questions their way, they would be keen to share their knowledge. Sometimes disinterest/lack of knowledge (shit pharmacist) can be mistaken for secrecy.
 
Originally posted by sourlemone
a simple taste test should differentiate between the two. Codeine has a very distinctive, bitter taste...ibuprofen, well, just doesn't.

Even if that were true, I wouldn't risk potential harm based on the interpretation of results from an unreliable method of testing.

The 'taste test' is not a reliable way of detecting chemicals/drugs, especially if used as the sole method of testing. There are too many other variables and possibilities that could influence the results of conducting a taste test on pills/powders, not to mention incorrect ideas about what certain chemicals taste like.

It is not a good idea to make judgements upon the perceived taste of a chemical, and there could be dangerous repercussions if you put your health in the hands of a decision reached via the results of an inaccurate/unreliable method like taste-testing.

It is safer to experiment with Reagent test kit results.... and ultimately it is even safer to pull a cold water extraction.
 
Another simple, but by no means conclusive way to check is a simple solubility test. I break the tablet into the two parts and then hold them in my hand under running cold water. The codeine half should dissolve many times quicker than the ibuprofen half.

I must say that this is a very inaccurate method of testing but without access to any testing kits, this method and the taste test will at least provide some level of indication.
 
taste it.

ibuprofen half tastes like... burning (its a fucking poison)

codeine tastes like bitter goodness....

very definite sensations.

never fail.
 
Shit, i dont know why but usually i do split the pills in half but the other night i consumed 16 unsplit pills...... not very smart
 
^Fuck dude! I mean I agree that it can be a pain in the ass to sit down and split 'em - especially when youre splitting 24 - but that pretty crazy.

So the pharmaceutical companies are all well and aware that their product is consistenly abused? I find that amusing %)
 
pinkanga said:
^Fuck dude! I mean I agree that it can be a pain in the ass to sit down and split 'em - especially when youre splitting 24 - but that pretty crazy.

So the pharmaceutical companies are all well and aware that their product is consistenly abused? I find that amusing %)

Nah like i said i usually do split the pills but i was only intending on taking 8 or so but then with the consumption of alcohol and the 8 kicking in i decided foolishly to take another 8 withouth thinking about how much iburafen i had consumed
 
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