How Does Acetaminophen With Codeine Work?
Acetaminophen with codeine, as the name implies, contains two different medications: acetaminophen and codeine phosphate. Codeine is a narcotic, opioid pain reliever. It is effective at decreasing pain and relieving coughing, but also causes drowsiness, mood changes, and mental “clouding.” Codeine itself is not effective for relieving pain; in the liver, certain enzymes metabolize codeine into morphine (which is very effective for relieving pain). Some people who have lower-than-normal functioning of certain metabolizing enzymes in the liver may not get much pain relief from codeine, since they will not adequately metabolize codeine into morphine.
