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<\/p>\nMixing these drugs could increase the risk of side effects including stomach bleeding or kidney problems<\/p>\n
07:57, 17 May 2026Updated 09:33, 17 May 2026<\/p>\n
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The NHS has shared advice on what drugs shouldn’t be mixed with ibuprofen(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n
The NHS has advised against taking certain medications alongside commonly prescribed drug. Over-the-counter painkillers are a lifeline for millions of people managing everyday aches and ailments.<\/p>\n
Everyday complaints such as headaches<\/a>, back pain, and cold symptoms can often be eased with standard painkilling treatments. Ibuprofen is one of Britain’s most widely used painkillers, ranking amongst the most popular medicines available to buy without a prescription.<\/p>\n Sold under several brand names including Nurofen, Calprofen, and Ibuleve, it belongs to a group of medicines known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, commonly referred to as NSAIDs. The drug works by blocking hormones that cause inflammation and pain throughout the body, treating a wide range of conditions from back pain and period pain to toothache and symptoms of cold, flu, or COVID-19.<\/p>\n “Common” adverse reactions to ibuprofen include indigestion and stomach discomfort(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n New weapon against ageing has been discovered in garlic; eating eggs could cut your Alzheimer\u2019s risk by a third; a man who lived under the sea says he’s never felt better; and what makes you so irresistible to mosquitoes? All this and more in our latest science newsletter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n However, as with any medicine, knowing how to use ibuprofen correctly is vital in order to avoid potentially harmful side effects. This includes being careful when taking ibuprofen alongside other treatments, as they could interact negatively.<\/p>\n On its website<\/a>, the NHS<\/a> said: “Ibuprofen does not mix well with some medicines.” As a result, the health body has urged people not to take ibuprofen at the same time as other NSAIDs. This includes aspirin and naproxen, which when combined with ibuprofen, can increase the risk of side effects including stomach bleeding or kidney problems.<\/p>\n “Common” side effects of ibuprofen include:<\/p>\n Meanwhile, more serious but less common side effects can include:<\/p>\n The NHS has warned: “The risk of serious side effects is higher if you’re taking a high dose of ibuprofen or taking it for a long time.”<\/p>\n Ibuprofen is a commonly taken painkiller in the UK(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n It’s also important to be aware of medicines that might not obviously appear to be NSAIDs. “NSAIDs are also used in medicines you can buy from pharmacies, such as cough and cold remedies,” the NHS noted.<\/p>\n “Before taking any other medicines, check the label to see if they contain aspirin, ibuprofen or other NSAIDs.”<\/p>\n For your own safety, it is advisable to let your GP know if you are taking any of the following medicines before starting any form of ibuprofen:<\/p>\n Furthermore, mixing ibuprofen with ginkgo biloba supplements should be avoided as it can “increase the chance of bleeding”. The NHS recommends seeking urgent medical attention or calling 111 if you have been taking ibuprofen and notice:<\/p>\n Other NSAIDs include diclofenac, celecoxib, mefenamic acid, etoricoxib, and indomethacin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mixing these drugs could increase the risk of side effects including stomach bleeding or kidney problems 07:57, 17…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":803437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[96178,33691,5739,47180,210,124850,3264,10236,1060,565,26198,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-803436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-aspirin","9":"tag-back-pain","10":"tag-blood-pressure","11":"tag-flu","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-healthy-life","14":"tag-healthy-lifestyle","15":"tag-healthy-living","16":"tag-medication","17":"tag-nhs","18":"tag-prescriptions","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116591431905504619","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Painkiller\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_GettyImages-1360365883.jpg\")
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