Everyone takes ibuprofen, but almost no one knows these risks about the popular painkiller

Do you have a sore throat, stomach ache, or general malaise? Then an ibuprofen tablet is quickly taken. Almost everyone has ibuprofen or similar medications in their medicine cabinet. However, the drug carries various risks. A new book outlines the pros and cons.

"Ibuprofen has changed pain relief for millions of people," says Professor Aldrin Gomes from the University of California, Davis. "But it is also an example of how every medication requires a balance between benefit and danger."

The idea for his book The Comprehensive Guide to Ibuprofen: The Good, the Bad and the Unexpected arose when Gomes noticed that students in his lab knew almost nothing about the potential harmful effects of ibuprofen. "I thought they should learn about it, and so it became a joint lab project," he explains.