Making Sense of Headlines on Acetaminophen Pain Relievers

Depending on which headlines you’ve seen recently, you may think that some pain relievers are being recalled because they’re dangerous and you might be wondering if you need to clean out the medicine cabinet and throw out any number of these products. I’m going to try to explain this highly complex situation, but the bottom line is that when taken as directed, all of the pain relievers currently on the market, be they prescription or over the counter (OTC), are still considered to be safe and effective and you don’t need to throw them away (and nothing is being recalled at the moment either). The bottom line problem, however, is that when it comes to pain relievers many people don’t follow directions and wind up taking far more pills than they should. And when those products contain acetaminophen it can lead to toxic levels of that drug, which can and all too often does lead to liver injury and sometimes even to death. An FDA advisory panel met this past week in an attempt to provide recommendations on how to reduce the number of acetaminophen-related toxicities, or side effects. The FDA will be considering the panel’s recommendations over the next few months. But it’s not just that people don’t follow the directions for these medications, it’s that they don’t realize how many different pills they’re taking at the same time that may each contain acetaminophen. That’s because acetaminophen is present in ma...
Source: Dr. Z's Medical Report - Category: Physicians With Health Advice Authors: Tags: Healthy Living acetaminophen aging alcohol alcohol consumption blog chronic pain community directed Dr Z Ed Zimney Everyday Health FDA FDA advisory hydrocodone injury liver liver damage medblog narcotic news OTC Source Type: blogs