Tylenol Can Kill You: New Warning Admits Popular Painkiller Causes Liver Damage, Death

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already warned that acetaminophen is toxic to the liver, and that it is linked to liver failure and other serious problems. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, healthy adults who took the maximum dose of Tylenol for two weeks were found to have liver damage.

Many people are still completely unaware that Tylenol can be toxic to their liver, even when they take the recommended dose. Taking too much acetaminophen can lead to liver failure, liver transplant and death. Acetaminophen’s toxic metabolites have been shown to kill liver cells and it is now the leading cause of sudden liver failure in the U.S. This drug is so toxic that every year 80,000 people are rushed to the emergency room due to acetaminophen poisoning, and around 500 people end up dead from liver failure.
A new study, led by Dr. Kenneth Simpson of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, found that people are more likely to die from a “staggered overdose” (taking just a little bit too much for several days or weeks) of Tylenol than from a single large overdose.

Tylenol Can Kill You New Warning Admits Popular Painkiller Causes Liver Damage, Death

Many people may be surprised by these disturbing figures, especially considering that millions of Americans take Tylenol and acetaminophen-containing drugs on a regular basis. There are now over 85 personal injury lawsuits filed against the company in federal court, and McNeil must feel the heat from a drug that has long been claimed as one of the safest painkiller drugs on the market.

“The warning will make it explicitly clear that the over-the-counter drug contains acetaminophen, a pain-relieving ingredient that’s the nation’s leading cause of sudden liver failure. The new cap is designed to grab the attention of people who don’t read warnings that already appear in the fine print on the product’s label, according to company executives,” writes Matthew Perrone for the Associated Press.

The new label will bear the phrases “CONTAINS ACETAMINOPHEN” and “ALWAYS READ THE LABEL.” It is set to first appear on all bottles of Extra Strength Tylenol, which contains 50% more acetaminophen per dose than regular strength Tylenol. In the following months, all bottles of Tylenol, including regular strength Tylenol, will bear the new label.

An FDA advisory panel finally recommends that cough and cold drugs that contain acetaminophen be banned altogether because of these serious risks of liver damage. The panel also recommends taking the popular prescription painkillers Vicodin and Percocet (both of which contain acetaminophen) off the market due to similar risks of liver damage.

Sourced: livingtraditionally

 

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