| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/4/2009 4:07:22 AM | This week a close family friend of ours is burying their 21 year old son! He was a great kid, an honor student at a great college here in Texas and the cause of his death? He had a migraine and took too many Tylenol!
I have been warning everyone I know about this for years after watching a young girl almost lose her life years ago by taking too much Tylenol and I was educated by the police officer who was on the call just how dangerous that drug is. In small overdoses it causes irreversable liver and kidney damage, in larger doses it is fatal! Why this isn't common knowledge is a mystery to me! Google the dangers of this medication and you will find a slew of scary information, including the cautions on giving it to children, making sure that if you are giving it to babies that you are you using infants vs. childrens, there is a difference! Also, many other medications also include acetaminophen, make sure you are not double dosing without realizing it. I make a habit of buying the medications that don't have the added acetaminophen. Tell this to everyone you know, this is NOT the common knowledge that it should be!
Is anyone else aware of how dangerous this supposedly safe, over the counter medication is? | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/4/2009 6:38:32 AM |
took too many Tylenol... by taking too much Tylenol... In small overdoses in larger doses it is fatal... make sure you are not double dosing...
Did you happen to... read the label? You know, the label that says "Do not take more than 8 tablets within 24 hours"? I am sorry friend's son past on from taking... TOO MUCH Tylenol. However, and I am sorry if this seems cold... but it is NOT the Tylenol's fault he took TOO MUCH. He was an honor student.... yet didn't take the time to read the directions? As did the other girl you mentioned. You said she took TOO MUCH Tylenol. Again... this was NOT the drug's fault. Just like any other over the counter medication... They have directions and disclaimers all over the label.
Is anyone else aware of how dangerous this supposedly safe, over the counter medication is
Any food, drug, or alcohol taken in excess can be dangerous. One cookie is safe. The whole package could send someone into sugar shock. Consumers cannot keep blaming situations on labeled products simply because they were too lazy to read it.
Why this isn't common knowledge... Tell this to everyone you know, this is NOT the common knowledge
Do you know what IS common knowledge? Reading labels. Following directions. They are there for a reason. I'd rather tell everyone I know to read labels and follow the directions.
I make a habit of buying the medications that don't have the added acetaminophen
I make it a habit to read the label/directions before I put any drug into my mouth/body. | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/4/2009 6:00:42 PM | While I agree with you, I think you are missing my point. Tylenol is considered one of the most dangerous over-the-counter medications on the market and it doesn't take an excessive amount to overdose on this medication. So your analogy to eating an entire box of cookies is a prime example of the ignorance amongst the general public. They believe that it would take an great amount to cause severe and irreversable organ damage or death and that is not the case!
Rather than argue the point, let's try to get this message to as many people as possible to prevent as many unnecessary tragedies as possible. Please? | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/4/2009 6:18:57 PM | | Oh please. There had to be more going on there than just that. I am sure it did not help to overdose on the stuff either, but normally there are a few things "left out" in cases like this. And it is sad. If people would read labels PERIOD. We may as well find something wrong with everything; lets start with alcohol consuption. Need I say more? I do not so much see Tylenol as dangerous (mind you I do not take ANY pills) there is something wrong with ANYTHING if you look hard enough or do not read lables. I am not going to hop on the cell to tell everyone about Tylenol. If people cannot read labels or know better, oh well. I would be on the phone all night over things people take too much of. | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/4/2009 6:49:46 PM |
So your analogy to eating an entire box of cookies is a prime example of the ignorance amongst the general public.
Wait a minute...
... you are considering my example of too many cookies to be ignorant (a diabetic could easily go into sugar shock on a box of cookies)... yet, you stated in your initial post that in both cases, the parties KNOWINGLY took TOO MUCH Tylenol. And you want to warn everyone of the dangers of Tylenol and not the TOO MUCH??
Tylenol, like any other drug on the planet, needs to be respected and the directions followed. Again... read the label... don't blame the product for laziness. | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/4/2009 7:48:16 PM | Acetaminophen is one of those medications that you have to be very careful what you mix it with, including other medications, and especially alcohol.
Less is always better than more and anybody that feels they just need 'a few more' to get back on track needs some serious re education. And definitely try to avoid it with infants. They can't tell us if it's making them worse. | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/4/2009 7:52:16 PM | Oh, no! Just wait till the OP finds out about Dihydrogen monoxide! Now that stuff can kill you, and it's everywhere.
I'm sorry about your friend, FlameNFire, but I don't think fear-mongering is useful. Although I did come across this on Wikipedia:
Paracetamol overdose results in more calls to poison control centers in the US than overdose of any other pharmacological substance
Most of us aren't doctors or chemists, it's hard to remember the details of what's in what drug and how much to take, that's why we make up helpful generalized life hints for ourselves such as 'Moderation in All Things' and, as has already been mentioned, 'Always Read the Label.' | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/5/2009 1:18:25 PM | | In both cases the victims were vomiting and believed they had vomited the medication and took more. In both cases they didn't even take double the standard dose. This medication is much more dangerous than the general public would remotely understand, yet, my attempts to just make people aware is responded to with total disrespect. I am simply trying to make others aware, if you don't like or wish to hear the message, move on. | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/5/2009 2:42:50 PM | Anyone who reads the label as I am doing as I type this, knows it says how much to take. Not to take with any other medication UNLESS approved by one doctor and that alcohol should be avoided due to liver issues. The label also says NOT to give to children.
In our family all members know that if there is vomiting that calling the doctor is a must. And that medications begin to be absorbed into the system when they hit the stomach so vomiting doesn't rid the body of the medication.
And to make a broad statement that i
In small overdoses it causes irreversible liver is beyond irresponsible. Reminds me of people who don't read the operating directions for electrical items and the they either get hurt or die.
~Beth~ | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/5/2009 4:04:33 PM | | Then don;t start threads if you do not want opinions. Go to the local News in your neighborhood and rant there. That way you will not have to hear responses. I can guarantee you will get the same thing; you just will not have to "hear" it. A lot of things are "dangerous". We would be here all day, all night with a list of things. Good grief. | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/5/2009 6:57:31 PM | Yay, more fear mongering!
I agree with Mystie 100%. It's not Tylenol's fault that these individuals over dosed. If they choose to go against the directions on the label, then they are the ones putting themselves at risk. Every over the counter drug has a potential to be harmful. Everybody also has different reactions to drugs. Some can take several pills of one thing, but can't even take one of another. We are all different, and how our bodies react to a medication is completely individual.
Yup. My pathology prof (an M.D.) told me he had a patient who died from taking 4 Tylenol at once. Sure, she was a tiny Asian woman, but still...
I'm pretty sure that we all know taking 4 Tylenol at once is not a good idea. I won't take more than 2... do you know why? Because that's what the label says to do.
If I have a pain that is so bad, I feel I need to take 4 of any medication at one time, I'm contacting a doctor first.
Just like some people can have one beer and feel tipsy while another person can have 10 and still walk straight. When it comes to pain medication and other medicines, each one of us will react differently. I was given Demerol once in the hospital and it did nothing for me... didn't feel a thing. When my husband had to get it, he was high as a kite.
Rather than argue the point, let's try to get this message to as many people as possible to prevent as many unnecessary tragedies as possible. Please?
What message is that exactly? That you know 2 people personally who have had a bad reaction to Tylenol? OMG... run for the hills!!
People need to get the message alright... not about Tylenol and it's dangers, but about reading labels properly and doing thier research before stuffing thier face full of a medication they know nothing about. | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/5/2009 7:19:43 PM | Hey, I was just sharing a thought. I completely agree that if one follows the label's instructions, then taking Tylenol is perfectly fine.
Every medical intervention comes with a risk. It's our job to ensure we reduce those risks by being smart about our choices. | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/5/2009 8:37:01 PM | A lot of things are "dangerous".
Crossing the street is dangerous. Even when someone crosses at the cross walk and stop light... there is always the possibility a car will run the red light.
I am guessing that if we looked at some statistics, more people have died from crossing the street than taking Tylenol responsibly. | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/6/2009 6:26:01 AM | If I might offer a different perspective here which could underscore a bit of what the OP is attempting to convey, there is a glaring descrepancy among the drugs banned and approved by the FDA with regards to the potential for overdose and adverse (sometimes even fatal) reactions.
The FDA can also rightly be accused of being highly inconsistent in deeming which drugs are OTC versus prescription-required. To the OP's point, there are drugs which do not cause hospitalization and death at the rate attributed to acetaminophen but require prescriptions to obtain. There are drugs declared illegal by the FDA which have proven medical benefits and have litte to no risk of overdose and death.
Take the OPs message for what it's worth. There is a broad assumption by the general public that if a drug is OTC there is little risk for lethal overdose. This assumption is based on a mis-guided faith that the FDA is consistent in applying its rules on the availability and legalization of drugs. | |
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| Please beware of the dangers of Acetaminophen! (Tylenol!)
Posted: 11/21/2009 10:41:14 PM | You are quite correct about the dangers of Tylenol. I was, quite by chance, a friend of one of the doctors(now deceased) who discovered, and made the AMA aware of the problems.
It is not large quantities of Tylenol that are the primary danger (though that would obtain, of course), it is the REGULAR USE OF IT. Especially after the AMA started promoting the idea some while back that an aspirin a day could reduce the likelihood of heart attacks (since withdrawn), Tylenol usage increased as some silly people assumed that it would work the same way.
Your advice is on the money. Any one who doubts it, should not argue here, but should do their own simple, basic research. Look it up. It is a recognized, medical fact. | |
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