President Obama is trying to save us all by having his FDA take a harder look at safety in medications and certain ingredients in medications, the current culprit is acetaminophen. Advisors to the Food and Drug Administration are recommending that acetaminophen containing drugs be either heavily regulated or banned altogether.
Acetaminophen Tablets
The most popular of all drugs containing acetaminophen is Tylenol; no doubt there is not one person who reads this who hasn’t taken Tylenol in their life. For years people have warned that acetaminophen in large doses could result in liver damage. Advisors are recommending that Tylenol’s dosage amounts should be decreased and that the extra strength version be given by prescription only.
The advisors also recommended that Percocet and Vicodin, powerful pain killers which contain acetaminophen be banned totally. Acetaminophen has been used for 50 years as a pain reliever and fever reducer.
Acetaminophen has long been associated with acute liver failure. Over dosage and over usage have caused liver failure for some time; people have been willing to accept those risks for the pain relieving benefits of the drug. Acetaminophen over doses send thousands to the hospital each year.
I still think using common sense and moderation is the key, although I’m not a doctor. Liver failure, heart disease, something’s going to get you; I suppose if they were to ban or scale back acetaminophen, ibuprofen is next on the hit list. I’m pretty cynical when it comes to government regulations; didn’t they just decide to regulate Cheerios?
Of course drug makers insist that acetaminophen is completely safe when taken as directed. I suspect that Johnson and Johnson, the makers of Tylenol, will make a huge push to ensure that their product, which has become synonymous with pain relief, remains that way. We’ll just have to wait and see what the FDA decides to do; no word on how Obamacare will effect acetaminophen use.
I want to emphasize that we here at Right Pundits have no official postion on whether acetminophen is safe for you or not. You should consult your own doctor, and use your own self determination for that.
Acetaminophen Overdose Information
July 1st, 2009 at 11:10 am
Ok…it’s high time we held people accountable for their own actions. If you take too much Tylenol, etc..shame on you. I, however, should not be penalized for others stupidity. I currently take Vicodin HP, and other meds that are addictive but do not ever exceed the maximum dosage. Vicodin does not eliminate pain, it makes it tolerable. I also use a pain patch, which enables me to manage the pain from cancer…why am I going to have to suffer because of a handful of @$$holes? We have am administration that now thinks they are all MD’s? WTF??????? And by the way…I have never gotten *high* from meds…tired, a bit goofy at times, but nothing has ever approached the *high* one gets from a bottle of good wine. Since I cannot drink, what the hell am I suppose to do now? I will not suffer quietly.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I have Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, and 2 pinched nerves in my neck & back. I am in pain constantly but I muddle through life however I can. Sometimes it means I spend days/weeks/months in bed. No doctor I’ve ever been to hands this stuff out like candy- nor would I want them to. I’ve been able to occasionally get a script when the pain has gotten bad enough to where I can’t walk. I fear for my future- and I invite the FDA to count the bodies of those in constant, chronic pain that choose suicide over laying in bed in agony.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:55 pm
If high doses of acetaminophen cause liver damage, it only makes sense to reduce the dosage. I would think doctors could easily prescribe the other drugs contained in Vicodin and Percocet separately from acetaminophen.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:08 pm
The FDA clearly has to much power. They can’t stop people from taking more the recommended doseage. But under this president, they will try and protect us from ourselves.
Did you know that if the Cap And Tax bill is not passed in the Senate, the FDA has the power to put it into affect. The Supreme rulled that CO2 was a danger and so the FDA would take control of it.
Everything that goes in the body passes through the liver. If the dose is 2 every 6 hours and you take 6 every 2 hours, that is a choice. Not a good one, but the FDA can not save you from yourself.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Ever count the number of folks that die from liver damage due to drinking? I want the FDA to eliminate alcohol..and the added benefit would be no more deaths from drunk drivers! C’mon folks..let’s ban alcohol!
July 1st, 2009 at 1:54 pm
JoAnne, I’ll drink to that!!!
July 1st, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Tens of thousands of people die each year because of acetaminophen-related acute liver failure. If a law can be passed that will save even some of these lives, why wouldn’t we do it?
July 1st, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Because people too stupid to obey laws and follow directions don’t need to live…while those fighting life threatening illness do want to live and live with less pain. Again..alcohol destroys more livers and lives. Do the right thing..ban alcohol.
July 1st, 2009 at 2:44 pm
A, First there are not tens of thousands of death from acetaminophen each year.
More people die from being murdered then from taking acetaminophen. Murder is illegal but it has not stopped people from murder.
People die from cars. Cars not illegal.
People die from electrical shock. Electrictrity not illegal.
People die from plane crashes. Planes not illegal.
If we made eveything that could kill us illegal, we would have nothing.
Stop being a whinner and take a Tylenol and call your mom in the morning.
July 1st, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Are you sure about those numbers slor? I just Googled it and got a number less than 500 per year.(458)
I believe there are already warning labels on these products and if they need to make those bigger, then by all means, do so. But to regulate or ban them simply because less than 1/10,000th of the population can’t follow directions is absurd.
Besides,if National Health Care becomes a reality, that might be all we can count on.
July 1st, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Commercials for pain killers may as well have the music from White Rabbit playing in them. There’s a pill for everything, no need to address symptoms. And this message has been heard, and now the general public is incapable of taking Tylenol and other pain killers in a safe manner. As the doctor in this article says, it’s not the drug that isn’t safe, it’s the way people take it, like it’s a tic-tac.
http://tinyurl.com/TylenolDanger
July 1st, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Flyingmonkey, enlight of the fact that the president said he is going pass Oyoupoorsuckbama healthcare, I have a plan to stop the tens of zillons of deaths everyday fron Tylenol. When you are sick under tge new plan, the president will send a nurse and doctor to you bedside to administer your meds. they will have their eyes on you 24/7.
Remember a liberal mind is a terrible thing.
Every 3.23541 minutes 378,523.5 American die from Tylenol overdose. You can help. Call 1-800-Exactly How Many Tylenols Do I Take. Or visit http://www.iamtoostupidtowipemyownbutt.obama
July 1st, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Acetaminophen overdose is one of the most common poisonings worldwide.
“No other over-the-counter drug has a narrower range between therapy and toxicity than acetaminophen”
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/1998/0112/6101042s1.html
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/1998/0112/6101042a.html
“In infants and small children, studies have indicated that the toxic dose is less than twice the recommended dose.”
“Studies have also shown that it is very easy to mistakenly give children too much acetaminophen and, as a result, endanger their lives and health.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/25/health/personal-health-with-tylenol-and-children-overdosing-is-perilously-easy.html
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/poison/acetaminophen-overdose/news-and-features.html
May 28, 2009
FDA Report Urges Tougher Acetaminophen Warning
“One month after mandating stricter warning labels about the risk of liver damage from the painkiller acetaminophen, U.S. regulators are contemplating even tougher standards.”
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=100787
April 2009
FDA paper “Over the past decade, FDA has initiated several activities to attempt to stem the public health burden of acetaminophen injury. However, more needs to be done. It is time to consider what additional measures the agency could take.”
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/09/briefing/2009-4429b1-01-FDA.pdf
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:28 am
Take an aspirin. It’s more natural. Aspirin’s good for you, too. Prevents blood clots and heart disease. Comes from Willow bark. The Indians discovered it. If it bothers your tummy, get enteric coated.
An anagram of aspirin is, “Pain, Sir.”
An anagram of Tylenol is, “We’ve made a zillion dollars peddling this stuff that can kill your liver, but we don’t care.”
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:47 am
Does your Socialist agenda cloud your thinking Klo, or did you just take advantage of a chance to swipe at Capitalism.
The subject of the story is acetaminophen. Tylenol is merely the most popular of the dozens of OTC drugs that contain this ingredient.
Acetaminophen is safe when taken as directed, whether as Tylenol or it’s discounted Wal-Mart equivalent Equate. Problems arise when people, as Mark states above, pop them like Tic-Tacs or use several medications simultaneously that contain this ingredient (Tylenol and Nyquil)resulting in an overdose.
So Klo, take a breath, pop a Midol (But follow the directions, it contains acetaminophen) and chill on the unwarranted attacks on Capitalism.
By the way, I didn’t find a complete anagram for the word “liberal” but I did find the words libel and liar contained therein. Go Figure!!!
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Stick yer “socialist agenda” where the sun don’t shine, Monkey Kins. You bandy about the word “socialist” too much. If ANYONE sez ANYTHING, they are a SOCIALIST!
If Tylenol (aka acetaminophen) is safe, then why have people suffered liver damage from it? I do not care why or who. I do not care if it is a behavior issue. THAT DOES NOT MATTER. This is where you make your mistake. You think that everyone in the world should have a rod up thier butt like you do. Well, they don’t. There are a lot of people out there–screwed up, maybe–who may, for some reason, take too much tylenol. God loves them the same as he loves you and me, and doesn’t want to see them dead. And it is not the same as putting my finger in a light socket, either. We couldn’t live without electricity, but we could easily live without tylenol.
We could take an aspirin, or whatever.
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Klo, take the time to read about the side effects of aspirin and the number of deaths attributed to it’s use. Ignore all of the factors which would make it safer to use or not use. You “do not care why or who.” Remember!!! Then what?
There are probably thousands of things in society both natural and manufactured that will cause death or injury if not used properly. As George noted in a previous post, if we removed everything that could harm us we’d have little to nothing.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
This is CRAZY, Im a nurse and know the dangers of Tylenol. Ive seen patients that tried to commit suicide with tylenol which is very destructive to organs. BUT…… If you were suicidal Jumping off a bridge would do serious damage to your organs as well. Its not the Governments place to put bumper guards on every thing dangerous in the world.
I’m alergic to Asprin and cant take Motrin as well. Tylenol is my saviour for pain. Whats up; we as a society dont hold individuals accountable any more? We dont think people can READ and Follow INSTRUCTIONS? Leave tylenol alone this has to be related to other companies trying to move Tylenol out to increase their stocks….