A new study in the latest issue of Pediatrics, looks at three commonly used medicines for kids' pain…and found which one works best. To date, there hasn't been a lot of research into NASIDs and the like OTC drugs and their impact on children, which is why this new study sheds a lot of light on the issue.

Eight year old Lovie Taylor is dealing with a lot of pain. “Lovie is here today because she had surgery, very intense surgery. A lot of pain, we came into the emergency room, she was in an awful lot of pain,” says Rhonda, Lovie's Grandma.

Morphine is Lovie's drug du jour.

But for most kids who come to the E.R., or even are just treated at home, the pain can be managed with less intense medicine than codeine for instance.

But which one is really the best? Tylenol? Ibuprofen? What about a narcotic like codeine? What about Topicals?

The research, in the latest issue of Pediatrics, compared acetaminophen, which is what tylenol is, ibuprofen, which is what motrin is, and codeine.

The study looked at how well the medications worked for musculoskeletal injuries to the neck, back, arms or legs in kids who came to the emergency room for a period of several months.

Codeine, which is a narcotic, is associated with more side effects than ibuprofen, so it appears there's little reason to use it, so make sure there is a really good reason for using it before it is applied to your child.

The findings clearly show a pain relief advantage to ibuprofen, which acts both centrally in the brain pain centers and at the site of injury. Paste...

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PEDIATRICS Vol. 119 No. 3 March 2007, pp. 460-467 (doi:10.1542/peds.2006-1347)