As You've Read Here, Acetaminophen is Dangrous

Despite the ads touting safety, Acetaminophen (aka Tylenol, Paracetamol, etc) is probably the most dangerous over the counter drug on the market. But you already knew that, didn't you?

FDA says aspirin is bad, (and oh, acetaminophen might kill you)

This week the FDA announced that it was proposing new changes to the labeling of over the counter (OTC) pain relievers. Included in the list of pain relievers are the following:

• Products with Acetaminophen/Paracetamol (Brand name: Tylenol)
• NSAIDs (Aspirin, Ibuprofen (Brand name: Advil) , Naproxen Sodium (Brand Name: Aleve)

The FDA says the change is needed because Acetaminophen can cause liver problems and NSAIDs can cause gastrointestinal bleeding. However, I think FDA is really trying to warn the public about the dangers of Acetaminophen while taking some of the spotlight off the Acetaminophen containing products by throwing out the NSAID warning at the same time.

You should know that Acetaminophen is a relatively risky OTC pain reliever. It is so risky, that Acetaminophen overdose is now the #1 cause of liver failure in the United States. Multiple liver transplants and deaths have been caused by taking too much Acetaminophen. And overdosing is not that hard when you consider how many other "cold & flu" type products contain Acetaminophen. Tylenol has long been touted as a "safe" drug, especially for children after aspirin and salicylate containing products were tenuously linked (PDF) to Reye's syndrome. However, in light of the high risk of liver damage, the use of Acetaminophen containing products should be discouraged.

Unfortunately, the FDA has opted to warn people about the relatively low NSAID risk of gastrointestinal bleeding (compared to liver failure) at the same time, thereby obscuring from the public where the real risk lies.

Aspirin might prevent all sorts of cancer

A couple of recent studies show that Aspirin might prevent throat and skin cancer. This adds to the growing list of other ills the little white pills seem to prevent, including stroke, heart attack and colon cancer.

The throat cancer prevention is primarily in people with Barrett's esophagus. Barrett's is a condition that is usually caused by excessive acid reflux disease (GERD). It's ironic, since aspirin is itself an acid that is a cause of stomach irritation. People with Barrett's who took aspirin (or other NSAIDs) had about a 68% lower risk of getting cancer than their counterparts who did not take it. This is a big finding since people with Barrett's are at a higher risk for throat cancer. I'm still unclear on what the daily dosage was. As I'm too poor to afford a subscription to the Lancet, but here's a summary article from Forbes.