to say "no we dont have any aspirin but we do have paracetamol"?

[Bogeyface]

Because apparantly they are the same thing and I should know what he meant.

I say that as the two are completely different drugs, and as aspirin in particular must be avoided if you have certain illnesses (chicken pox if memory serves, is one) then IWNBU to be specific about what we have in?

'I don't know, have we?'
'I don't know, why don't you look in the medicine cabinet?'
'When you say 'we' do you mean me?'
'Yes possibly. why not check in the medicine cabinet?'
'Possibly'
'Probably'
'Who knows?'
'Hang on let me just check. >opens medicine cabinet and checks< Erm no we do not.'

And why not just say "pain killer" instead of specifying a particular one, if you dont want a particular one?

YANBU - I'm another one who isn't allowed to take aspirin, but we have both as dh takes half an aspirin a day (or used to). I ensure that we always have paracetamol, but the aspirin is down to him.

DH rarely takes painkillers, so if he asks if we have any ibuprofen and I say 'no, but we've got paracetamol' he generally just goes 'oh ok' then. He then either takes paracetamol or doesn't bother.

If it went the other way round though and he asked for aspirin but you gave him paracetamol you'd probably be wrong too I guess?

YANBU. If he doesn't mind what sort of pain killer then he should just ask if you have any pain killers. But he needs to take responsibility for what drugs he is taking (unless he has delirium from the current illness or other extenuating circumstances). If you said 'yes' to 'have you got any aspirin', but then actually gave him paracetamol, that could be really dangerous. Besides people not being able to take certain drugs for one reason or another, what if the headache hadn't improved an hour later, he went to the medicine cupboard and took out some more paracetamol? He could easily overdose accidentally if he doesn't know what he's taking.

My XP always used to take ibuprofen for migraines as its an antiinflammatory and didn't like taking paracetamol unless it was the only option...

So if he'd asked me "have we got any ibuprofen?" And I'd said "yes" and handed him paracetamol he'd have got the right hump!

Obviously you know he's not allergic to either of them, but how were you supposed to know that he didn't specifically want aspirin (or cornflakes)?

Next time he says "you know what I meant" say "no, actually, I didn't, because I'm not a fecking mind reader!"

Well, when it's someone close to you, I would know what they were asking, so if someone started being pedantic with me when I knew they knew what I wanted, I'd be irritated.
However, you did give the answer. You didn't just say "no" as you could have done, which would have been annoying, you anticipated that he might want one of the other options and suggested it, so I'd say you were being helpful.
However, presumably as he is after pain relief, then he isn't well, so I'd let him off a bit of grumpiness.

You should play him at his own game - tell him it's apple crumble for pudding, serve up ice cream, and when he comments say 'ffs, it's the same thing!' :-D.
If he asks where the sticky tape is, find him the stapler....u get the idea ;-)

If it went the other way round though and he asked for aspirin but you gave him paracetamol you'd probably be wrong too I guess?

Probably!

The accidental overdose thing is a good point.

It did descend into a bit of back and forth. After he said that I should know what he meant I said that I didnt, and aspirin is used for other things other than headache such a blood pressure and he said that he didnt have problems with blood pressure but might need some aspirin for it soon, being all sarky. We were walking into the corner shop so I said "Why dont you fucking buy some then and thats problem solved all round isnt it?" All this was in a hissy "We are not having a row in public, honest" kind of voice!

Oh and the headache cant be that bad because he hasnt taken anything yet. The discussion was about half past 4!

I can take most types of pain killer but I take different ones for different kind of pain so no, I don't think you were unreasonable.

Asking for corn flakes when rice crispies would do is just plain wrong!

He should count himself lucky that he needs painkillers that rarely, and can take any of them. If DH asks for ibuprofen, it means he's already taken paracetamol (not to mention coedine) and it isn't working, so telling him yes, then finding more paracetamol would be far from kind....

Exactly Sheepy. I have chronic pain and the specific drug is key. Doubling up painkillers you can take together, as opposed to ones you can't, is a common strategy, eg. Anti inflammatory with paracetamol or codeine. Even people who just use these medications occasionaly often know that. So the response you got OP...just comes across as ignorance to me. Educate him, it might matter one day.

If you want to get own back, if car is petrol as if there is any diesel in it or vice versa Say 'off to get some diesel' similarly.

Why was he asking you if 'we' have any aspirin? Either it's your personal aspirin that only you have knowledge of or it's the household's aspirin in whichever case... look your bloody self lazy ass!

That would be a good idea except that its my car, I am the only driver and he wouldnt know if the car is powered by diesel, petrol or piss :o

Could we not give him the benefit of the doubt as some part of him was sore and he wanted a painkiller.

Of course there's a difference but...

We werent in the house at the time, we were heading to the local shop so thats probably why he asked, so he could buy some if we hadnt. As I said, he hardly ever uses it, but given that there are 3 menstruating women in the house, we get through quite a lot and I tend to buy it!

Clearly you know what he means because you didn't reply to the aspirin with rice crispies or to corn flakes with paracetamol. Tell him that next time.

The correct answer to a specific question is no with the alternative, as you did.
The correct reply is thank you, which he didn't.

On second thought, the correct answer to his questions should be: I don't know, why don't you look it up?

Even if you are in the car. Keep not knowing.

I remember Ex doing this sort of thing to me. If I asked him to pass my jacket, he'd look around the room saying he couldn't see it even though it was right in front of him. When I finally got fed up and got it myself he'd make a big song and dance about how it wasn't a jacket, it was a coat. He was such a twat.

Then again, I often call things by the wrong name. I call margarine butter, I call soda juice, and I say go for a coffee when I actually drink tea. I also call a vacuum cleaner a hoover and say band aid even though we use generic plasters.

YANBU. Two VERY different painkillers and very different drugs. One is an NSAID with blood thinning qualities, the other is a non opiate analgesic with antipyretic qualities. One can be taken alongside ibuprofen and the other can't. One can be taken by almost anybody (including children and pregnant ladies) the other can't. Definitely NBU

I can possibly understand using aspirin as a generic painkiller if you are used to being able to use any, but surely he knows it is a specific thing, so getting grumpy with your response is definitely unreasonable. As long as you weren't being sarcastic and making a point that he's an idiot to call all painkillers aspirin.

If your answer was simply factual, and in fact helpful with extra information, then HWBU.