Word: acetaminophen
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...after muscling your way through the crowded shopping mall. Well, the Food and Drug Administration wants you to think twice about all that self-medicating you're doing with over-the-counter remedies. Every year, the agency says, about half of the deaths associated with taking painkillers containing acetaminophen are due to unintended overdoses. Acetaminophen, the primary ingredient in Tylenol, is also a common component of cold and flu remedies. The concern, says the FDA, is that people aren't aware of all the different compounds that contain acetaminophen, so when they decide to boost their dose of Tylenol...
...overdose of acetaminophen can damage the liver, which metabolizes and breaks down drugs. More than 200 million people take Tylenol in the U.S. each year, and about 200 a year die from liver failure when they accidentally take too much. What the FDA proposed is to require manufacturers of acetaminophen-containing over-the-counter drugs to prominently note the presence of the compound, and warn people of the danger of liver toxicity when acetaminophen is taken in excees of recommended doses...
...According to Dr. Charles Cain, director of anesthesia at New York Presbyterian Hospital, it's not that hard to reach these danger levels. The average adult should not exceed 4g of acetaminophen a day. If someone is taking two extra-strength tablets of Tylenol, which are 500 mg each, every four hours (instead of the recommended every six hours), and then adds a few doses of a cold medication during the day, then they're easily reaching about 4g-6g of acetaminophen a day. Do that over a few days, says Cain, and you could damage your liver. Since most...
...million Number of bottles of generic acetaminophen recalled after traces of metal were found in 500-mg caplets of the pain reliever...
...acetaminophen is affected. Only certain bottles of 500 mg caplets made by Perrigo Company were recalled. Perrigo sells its products to over 120 generic retailers, including Wal-Mart, CVS, Safeway and SuperValu. Products sold under the Tylenol label, the most popular brand of acetaminophen, are not affected. See www.fda.gov for a complete list of affected labels...