Do not take another acetaminophen until you read this urgent new warning
Forcing the cat out of the bag
What is it going to take? How many people have to be rushed to the emergency room or even die for the medical community to finally recognize this supposedly benign OTC as the dangerous drug it is?
Maybe this will do it.
As you know, acetaminophen has been on my radar for more than a decade. This widely used drug causes thousands of cases of liver toxicity every year, resulting in hundreds of deaths — more than eight deaths every week in the U.S. alone!
If a clinical study produced a death rate like that, the study would be stopped and the drug would never be approved. And don’t even get me started on what would happen if it were a natural herb or supplement!
So what in the world does it take to get acetaminophen pulled from the market forever?
Maybe this will finally shock the medical community enough to take some real action against this sacred cow…
Because recent research has uncovered a tragic new acetaminophen warning. And this time, children are the ones who are at greatest risk.
Asthma exploding
This might be the best kept secret in Pediatrics. And the fact that the lid has been on this secret for so long is completely inexcusable.
Writing in a recent issue of Pediatrics, John McBride, M.D., states: “It is possible that much of the dramatic increase in childhood asthma over the past 30 years has been related to the use of acetaminophen.”
Possible? Here’s how “possible” it is. Dr. McBride also states: “Until future studies document the safety of this drug, children with asthma or at risk for asthma should avoid the use of acetaminophen.”
As warnings go, that could hardly be much clearer.
In his article, Dr. McBride — director of the Respiratory Center at the Akron Children’s Hospital — lists six reasons why he believes acetaminophen use may cause asthma…
1) Research shows the association is strong
2) The association is consistent among different locations, cultures, and ages
3) Research shows a dose-response relationship — the higher the dose, the greater the risk
4) Increasing number of asthma cases coincides with increasing acetaminophen use
5) No other similar asthma triggers have been identified
6) Per-capita sales of acetaminophen parallel rising asthma rates
One of the studies cited by Dr. McBride included 520,000 children in more than 50 countries. Results showed that when kids were given acetaminophen at least once a month, their asthma risk more than TRIPLED!
That’s astounding! But what’s really troubling is that the evidence has been mounting for more than a decade, and yet acetaminophen remains a widely-used pain- and fever-reducer among children of all ages.
And adults are also at risk. In one study, subjects who used acetaminophen weekly were more than two and a half times more likely to develop asthma. Another adult study found a dose-response link between acetaminophen use and asthma as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and reduced lung function.
COPD is a dangerous, irreversible disease. How many unsuspecting COPD patients are out there, right now, using acetaminophen and accelerating the deterioration of their lungs?
It is absolutely outrageous that this information is not being broadcast loudly and frequently, far and wide.
Please share this e-mail with anyone you know who may have asthma or COPD, and EVERY parent. It’s just insane to let the medical community ignore this safety issue for even one day longer.
Sources:
“The Association of Acetaminophen and Asthma Prevalence and Severity” John T. McBride, M.D., Pediatrics, Vol. 128, No. 6, December 2011, pediatrics.aappublications.org
“Acetaminophen linked to asthma in new report” Linda Carroll, MSNBC, 11/7/11, vitals.msnbc.msn.com
