A really quick inquiry on tylenol and foot pain

DirtyDirtyVagrant

I just got this job. I'm a janitor. Or something. I'm on my feet for pretty much my entire shift, and progressively I start to develop foot pain. At first it's just annoying. At the end of the night it's crippling - It feels like I just sat down and started beating the arch and heel of my foot with a hammer for about 10 minutes. I almost have to limp.

The first questions are: What is this, what causes it, will it get better?

The most pressing question for now is "If I pop a Tylenol at lunchtime will that curb it some?"

Everywhereasign

It sounds like shitty footwear to me. If you've got any job that requires you to be on your feet all day, you need to invest in some excellent footwear with insole support if needed. Having shitty footwear when you stand all day is like working outside in the arctic in a thin windbreaker.

Sure, Tylenol will reduce inflammation and most likely relieve some of the pain, for now.

Daenris

First off you probably want to look into getting better shoes or some kind of insert that gives you better support. It sounds like your current shoe just isn't cutting it so you're putting a lot of pressure on the arch and it can't really handle it.

There are a lot of different inexpensive inserts that you can pick up at a drug store to try out. If they don't work for you, then maybe better shoes. Worst case scenario you could get special orthopedic shoes, but if you've never really had problems before it can probably be remedied with the more conventional insert.

Erandus

3rd-ing new shoes. Especially if the pain is located in your arches, you need some supportive footwear. Running shoes are generally good for that sort of thing. What are you wearing to work right now?

embrik

I can answer the "will it get better" question. Yes, it will. I used to work retail, and I was on my feet all day, save for my lunch break. It took a little while, but I got used to it. Eventually, there way no pain, and I could go all day without thinking about it. You need time to adjust, and yes, better footwear will help reduce that time.

Not Sarastro

Tylenol is paracetmol, pretty sure it doesn't reduce inflammation. You want something with ibuprofen in, both a painkiller and anti-inflammatory, and what athletes use for muscle pain etc.

Incendius

You're probably just not used to being on your feet for so long. I got it when I started working retail, it went away after a week or two - though new footwear might help, depending what you're wearing now.

EggyToast

Yeah, get new shoes, get gel insoles, and your feet will be much happier. And pop 3 Ibuprofen at lunch (with food) and 3 at dinner time (with food), that should help your feet a lot.

Tylenol doesn't really do anything for common ailments. It's awesome for the flu (when I got the flu a few years ago, acetaminophen was the only thing that brought the fever down), but I find it lacking for regular pain. The LD50 is really low, too, whereas you can take a ton of ibuprofen. That flexibility also means you can take ibuprofen according to your pain levels. If you're just a little achey, pop 1. If you're in pain and need to heal, pop 3, 3-4 times a day. My doc had me taking 3-4 600mg pills to heal up an inflamed finger, and that's not even close to the LD50.