Sunday, January 20, 2008

Mind Hacks: An ode to ibuprofen

A lyrical tribute to the pain killer ibuprofen, written by poet Matt Harvey.

The poem was written for BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live, as they had Dr Stewart Adams on the programme discussing his discovery of the drug.

The Telegraph has a great article on its discovery, which includes the fact that he tested the drug on himself to try and shift a troublesome hangover.

I Prefer Ibuprofen

Life is so much easier with effective analgesia

The purpose of pain is to say to the brain:
Ow! Houston we've got a problem…
But once we've got the message we don't need it again and again…

What do we want? Symptom Relief!
When do we want it? Now!

When you've had enough of it there's just no need to suffer it
Just pop a little caplet and Ibuprofen will buffer it

I've had a go with Aspirin, Codeine and Paracetamol
With Solpadeine, Co-codamol, with Anadin and Ultramol
I love them all, I really do, but I prefer Ibuprofen

There are other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs around
Your NSAID's these days are quite thick on the ground
There's Naproxen, there's Nabumetone
and, of course, there's Indomethacin
Each with much to offer us. But I prefer Ibuprofen

I love the way the compound sticks its cheeky little hand in
The way it blocks the enzyme that creates the prostaglandin

Reducing fever, inflammation, and mild to moderate pain

Yes I know it isn't curative, in anyway preventative
But to dwell on what it doesn't do is anally retentative
I know it doesn't treat the cause, the cause will still be there
But it lends a hand, it puts the 'pal' back into palliative care.

It does exactly what you'd expect it to say it would do if it came in a tin

http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2008/01/an_ode_to_ibuprofen.html

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