If there are any definite concerns about how ibuprofen interacts with caffeine, science hasn’t quite put a finger on it yet. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any, per Drugs.com. While it might be safe to take low doses of the pain relief medication with a cup of coffee, people should also be aware of the side effects both of these popular products have.
NSAIDs like ibuprofen come with words of caution (which are printed on the bottle itself), one of which is related to gastrointestinal (GI) discomfort, particularly when you take a pill without having eaten anything, according to the director of clinical pharmacy at Sedgwick, Andrew Newhouse (via SingleCare). Some of the known side effects of ibuprofen include heartburn, stomach ulcers, and internal bleeding.
While we turn to coffee to get things moving in the bathroom every morning, the popular beverage is also known to cause digestive issues, Healthline reported. For starters, caffeine can boost contractions in your GI tract. Some acids found in coffee can also increase the production of stomach acid. Also, caffeine could slow blood clotting and ibuprofen is considered a blood thinner. So there could be potentially adverse effects for some when it comes to bruising and bleeding, per RxList. What does this mean for combining coffee with ibuprofen?