Advil or Motrin for Fever

Updated on August 18, 2011
B.F. asks from Millbury, OH
9 answers

Which is better for a fever Mortin or Advil? I was under the impression Advil was like Motrin but Advil has not been working as well as I had hoped. Her fever last night was 102. This AM it was 103.3 and currently is 101 but she is playing barbies and once the Advil wears off crawls back to the couch.

This is in re: to my oldest DD~ my younger DD had a cough a couple weeks ago from a cold (and also has asthma) her cold has since passed and now has caught up with my oldest...sucks for her huh ;-(

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M.M.

answers from Detroit on

I have always heard that Motrin is better than Advil for fevers, and that Advil works better for body aches and pains. This could be totally unfounded, but I've always understood there is a minor difference in the way they are formulated?

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More Answers

M.P.

answers from Sacramento on

Advil and Motrin are the same - you can use any form of ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin) and acetaminophen (Tylenol) together, but rotate so that you are giving each medicine once every six hours - on an opposite 3 hour schedule.

For instance at:

7:00 am - give ibuprofen
10:00 am - give acetaminophen
1:00 pm - give ibuprofen
4:00 pm - give acetaminophen
7:00 pm - give ibuprofen

That should help - I would try to give it to your child with a little snack.....

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C.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

I'm sure by now someone else has told you Motrin and Advil are the same thing, they're both Ibuprofen, just a different name. What our doc had us do for a fever like that is give Tylenol and Motrin/Advil every 3 hrs. Call your doc or pharmacy to get the dose, not sure how old your kids are.

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R.K.

answers from Boston on

Is this the same child that was sick with a fever and cough not too long ago? If it is you might want to take her to the doc to make sure she didn't develop a secondary infection (ex. Ear infection, pneumonia, sinus infection, etc)

How high is the fever? If it's 102 and under you don't really need to give anything a fever helped fight the infection. If it's going higher or she's uncomfortable you can give Tylenol along with motrin/advil. Motrin and advil are the same medicine while Tylenol is not. If advil isn't helping it's doubtful that the motrin will.

Edited: I'm sorry your older daughter is sick now but I'm a little relieved that's it's not still the younger one because my oldest (also has asthma) gets pneumonia a lot following colds :(
As long as her fever is coming down which so far it is I see no reason to give something different. A fever reducer doesn't have to completely reduce the fever just bring it down and it must be helping with whatever other symptoms she's having if she is up playing when it's lower. Problem with that is she's playing when she should be resting.

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H.G.

answers from Dallas on

They are both ibuprophen so in theory yes they are the same and don't need to be taken together. The are anti immflamatories(sp) and it has always helped my kids fevers the best. Tylenol is an acetaminaphin which is a fever reducer as well but depends on the child how well it works, that's my 2 cents :)

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S.F.

answers from Utica on

Childrens Motrin prides itself on lasting for 8 hrs. Because they are technically the same thing I would go with Motrin for that reason alone
Good Luck

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K.N.

answers from Cleveland on

yup they are the same thing, if you want something different try tylenol. I think tylenol is better for fevers and prefer motrin for swelling, but that is just what works for us.

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J.D.

answers from Cincinnati on

Advil works best for my son. I think it has ibuprofen in it and a lot of people won't use it for that reason. Motrin would be a 2nd choice for me if I couldn't find advil.

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C.W.

answers from Cincinnati on

Advil & Motrin have the same pain reliever/fever reducer in it = Ibuprofen.

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