I've never been able to get a clear answer on whether Tylenol plus alcohol can harm your liver. Though acetaminophen can lead to liver damage when taken in large doses, many questions remain about its short-term dangers, particularly when combined with recreational drinking. Now, the FDA wants some answers.
The agency is meeting to determine if and how it should revise its guidelines on acetaminophen, including recommended dosage and the possibility of pulling "combination drugs" like NyQuil from shelves. Here's why:
. . . overdoses of acetaminophen have been linked to 56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations and 458 deaths during the 1990s, according to the FDA, citing one study.
The agency cited another study, a 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention population-based report, that estimated that acetaminophen was the likely cause of most of the estimated 1,600 acute liver failures each year.
Especially troubling are products such as NyQuil and Pamprin that aren't expressly sold as pain relievers but which contain acetaminophen. With those scary statistics, it sounds like it's high time the FDA addressed this issue. Do you worry about your acetaminophen intake?
sweatyBetty
Ghibli
Mulberry
Darn. I love binge drinking after taking Tylenol. The FDA ruins everything.
1this is something i know about from a close friend liver doc. tylenol has resulted in many deaths....the company has worked hard to prevent the appropriate warning labels/restrictions.
2One of my good friends died a little over a year ago from liver and kidney failure, caused by taking the recommended dose of Tylenol for a week, for a toothache. And she didn't drink alcohol.
3acetaminophen is in so many medications, it is scary. I have noticed that they don't say that its the safest or gentlest anymore. I usually go back and forth for ibuprofen and acetaminophen for aches. I have had ulcers but don't like taking acetaminophen all the time so I switch and check my labels all the time when taking other meds especially with my daughter.
4I am not a health nut (although I strive to be), but I really don't take any of this stuff too much. If I get a headache or body ache--I try to tough it out. If I ever find my health deteriorating I hope that I can find a natural way to cope.
5Any time I was in pain as a kid, instead of taking me to the doctor or coming up with another solution, my mom would just give me Tylenol. So growing up I never knew Tylenol was bad, so any time I had a headache, or my wrist hurt (I broke it bad when I was young and it still gets sore to this day) I'd take some Tylenol. It wasn't until a few years ago that I stopped completely. But, I recently found out I have a liver disease most likely caused by taking too much Tylenol and other medication containing acetaminophen all my life. Thanks mom....
6After taking Tylenol for what I thought was a hangover, I ended up in the hospital for over a week with Pancreatitis. While it started out mild, the addition of Tylenol made it much much worse. If I wouldn't have gone to the ER that night, doctors said I wouldn't have made it to see the next morning. So scary! I am still not allowed to take Tylenol 3 years later.
7In college, professors would warn about not taking Tylenol for a hangover for exactly this reason. I wasn't sure if it was an old wives tale or not, but I listened and took aspirin instead.
8I really shy away from taking any pain relievers or OTC meds, especially if I've had some alcohol. All of them are potentially very harmful.
9I don't take acetominophen at all; I prefer to take either naproxen sodium or ibuprofen for minor muscle aches and pains because I can take half a dose and it lasts all day for me. A lot of people take acetominophen inappropriately...it doesn't specifically target muscle pain like NSAIDs do, so if you have that type of pain and take acetominophen, you'll have to take a lot more of it in order to get the same effect as a smaller dose of NSAIDs.
That being said, I have no idea why they'd put acetominophen in Pamprin. Ibuprofen is MUCH better at relieving the cramping that you get at that time of the month. Guess that's why I never buy Pamprin.
10I always thought that ibprofin and alcohol was the bad combo... oh well. I take a generic tylenol maybe twice a day for 2 or three days during "that week". Don't take anything else really, maybe sudaffed for allergies.
11I think I'm okay, but I'll definately read labels a little more closeley.
Very nice site!
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