Review of: Good Sense Pain Relief Acetaminophen Gel Tabs

These Good Sense Pain Relief Gel Tabs are an acetaminophen formulation. Good Sense also makes a similarly-named ibuprofen product.

In this review, I won't go into the differences between acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Nor will I address anything about other types of OTC pain killer drugs, such as aspirin. I will just say that all of them are effective for the intended purpose.

The most commonly recognized brand of acetaminophen is Tylenol. Think of this product as an alternative to Tylenol. But, like Tylenol, it's also an alternative to other types of pain-killers such as those mentioned above.

You need to decide for yourself which type of pain-killer is appropriate for you. Don't rely upon layperson reviews or a doctor's advice to make that decision. The only smart way to sort that out is to consult with a licensed pharmacist. This is the only person qualified to explain the differences between the various pain-killers.

Unfortunately, corporate pharmacies have so undermined the pay of this profession (it is licensed by the state, thus making it a profession rather than an avocation) that you might not find a licensed pharmacist at your local drugmart. Don't assume the person in the white coat knows anything. Ask specifically for "the licensed pharmacist" and talk only to that person about your concerns.

The pharmacist knows; pharmacology is what that person specializes in.

So, let's assume you've made the decision in favor of acetaminophen. Now it's really a matter of which Acetaminophen product to buy. Here are some variations:

• Dosage. This Good Sense product provides 500mg. Some other products may provide less. The exact dosage needed depends upon your weight and the severity of the pain. A typical dosage for an adult is 1000mg. Find a dosage chart online or consult with a pharmacist if you're not sure what dosage is right for you.
• Gel vs. capsule. This is a debated topic. My layperson's opinion is you should experiment to see which, if either, works better for you. If you don't have problems either way, then this choice is likely irrelevant. It might be relevant if you store your pain relievers in an occasionally moist area such as the "medicine cabinet" of the typical bathroom and the capsules are powdered instead of plastic (solution: take only lukewarm showers).
• Packaging. If you buy a given brand and find the bottle infuriating to try to open, that's not a brand you'll want to buy again.
• Price. This is often the determining factor, as the product itself is fairly much a commodity.

This comes in a cardboard box that pulls open with ease. This is nice to see in an age where cardboard packaging is often glued together with some kind of military-spec glue that won't separate or is even replaced with a plastic bubble-pack that just about requires a chainsaw if you ever want to get at the product inside.

As with all OTC medications, the bottle has that "child-proof" top. But, atypical for the industry, it's not also an adult-proof top. Usually, pain relievers come in bottles designed specifically to deny access to people with arthritis or other conditions that are often the reason for taking the medication in the first place.

Apparently, Good Sense does NOT have a Department of Sadistic Packaging Design. Instead of a little arrow that requires supreme hand-eye coordination and outrageously good luck, it has a large arrow that makes it easy for a normal person to actually get at the medication inside the bottle. It is a child-proof cap rather than an adult-proof cap.

I really hate these caps. I think they are an even worse abomination than the water-wasting "low flush" toilets that force you to flush 3 gallons 5 times instead of flushing 5 gallons once. I can't break the toilet to make it flush properly, but I can break these bottles to make them open properly. I didn't do that to this container, because I needed to test it for this review. But here's how I do it....

The average American male has a right-hand grip strength of 30lbs. But I'm a climber with a right-hand grip strength of 160lbs. So the first thing I do to these types of containers is "put the pinch" on the cap and twist it to break the tabs that create the "child-proof" mechanism. That converts the bottle to a no-proof cap.

Being male, of course I get a sense of satisfaction from doing it this way (probably putting my tendons at risk, but hey, it's a guy thing). If you don't have that kind of grip, no problem. You can also do this using round-jaw pliers such as pump pliers. But you won't have to do it with this sensible Good Sense bottle design.

Since this bottle opened so easily, I've left its "child-proof" mechanism intact. So unlike all my other bottles, this one will actually prevent a child from accessing the medication. The others will not, because the idiotic design forced me to remove the feature for usability purposes.

Good job, Good Sense!

The price is also attractive. With the Unaffordable Care Act now placing medical insurance and medical treatment newly out of the reach of millions of Americans, self-treatment with OTC drugs is the only viable option.

For the millions who now also, thanks to the Unaffordable Care Act, are unemployed or whose full-time jobs have now become part-time, price is a major issue for any purchase. That means looking away from traditional brand names to less expensive alternatives, such as the Good Sense brand.

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