> It’s a weak fever reducer.

Anecdotal, but acetaminophen has been my goto for fever reduction. I've never had a problem with it (and it's taken me from 103->98 fairly frequently).

And, unlike most NSAIDs, it's safe(ish) for younger kids.

That said, I've never really noticed the pain killing effects.

Could you give me some sources on acetaminophen effectiveness? I’m really interested in this.

This article links to a bunch of studies: https://theconversation.com/whats-the-point-of-paracetamol-6...

Here’s an NIH meta analysis: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33786837/

There are lots of studies out there, throw whatever symptom + acetaminophen effectiveness into Google for more. Just make sure that is a study is making a big deal about stat sig to check the actual treatment effect.

> It’s a weak fever reducer.

That is what it is supposed to do.

I keep it in my first aid kit, since it works some amount for fever reduction and can be used in some cases where ibuprofen is contraindicated (like with dengue).

I also do not like how toxic tylenol is, but I'll echo the other (probably parents) posters pointing out that dropping a fever from 104.2 down to 100.9 is... pretty awesome when you have a screaming 6 month old and panicking mother. Arguably it's best feature is mild fever reducer. I love that feature. My child will peacefully go back to sleep within an hour of taking it and we can go get prescribed antibiotics for her ear infection first thing in the morning, rather than jumping through a bunch of hoops during a midnight run to the ER.

Ibuprofen is in almost all ways a better drug overall for parents/home use, but because of some rare reaction to it, it's not suggested until 6 months, so most parents assume Tylenol is "safer" and never switch over.

My first paragraph lumped together a bunch of pros/cons. Tylenol definitely reduces fever and eases mild headaches. It doesn’t do some other things that it’s prescribed for.

The thing about the weak fever reducing is it’s useful for reducing the suffering from the fever itself, like letting your baby sleep. It’s surprisingly ineffective at reducing febrile seizures. I think it’s that it doesn’t have much against a fever that bad.

104.2 F is a severe fever FYI, a medical emergency.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fever#Hyperpyrexia

Yep, if you call the nurse hotline generally they will advise you to dose Tylenol and then if if it doesn't come down, go into the ER. We have not yet had to do the second step.

YMMV but acetaminophen is extremely effective for me. I refuse all opioid/etc prescriptions even after surgeries, and acetaminophen makes this tolerable. It doesn't magic the pain away but it takes the edge off with no risk of addiction.

My understanding is that for chronic pain the evidence is sparse, but for postoperative pain it definitely works.

Do you also refuse intraoperative opioids?

No, but I refuse to have such drugs placed in my custody to me for me to be responsible for. The doctors can dose me with whatever they think is appropriate while I'm under their supervision, but I won't take that stuff home with me.