Ibuprofen used for relieving pain, helping with fever and reducing inflammation. About 60% of people improve with any given NSAID and it is recommended that if one does not work that another should be tried. Ibuprofen might be considered a weaker anti-inflammatory than other NSAIDs.
Compared to other NSAIDs it may have fewer side effects such as gastrointestinal bleeding. At low doses it does not appear to increase the risk of myocardial infarction; however, at higher doses it may. It may result in worsened asthma.
Like other NSAIDs, it works by inhibiting the synthesis of prostaglandins, which are fat-like molecules derived from the omega-6 fatty acid, arachidonic acid, which are involved in mediating inflammation (swelling), pain, and fever. It achieves this effect on prostaglandin synthesis by inhibiting cyclooxygenase, an enzyme that is present in various tissues of the body.
It was originally made and patented in 1961, by the research arm of Boots Company led by Stewart Adams and marketed as Brufen. Ibuprofen is now available under a variety of trade names, with the most notable being Advil, Motrin, and Nurofen. Its discovery was the result of research during the 1950s and 1960s to find a safer alternative to aspirin.
It was later marketed, in 1966, as a prescription drug in the United Kingdom, then the United States in 1974. Later in 1983 and 1984, it became the first NSAID (other than aspirin) to be available over the counter (OTC) in these two countries. It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system.