Study reveals acetaminophen much more dangerous than most doctors think

There is simply no safe way to take this drug.

For years I’ve been warning you about acetaminophen — the ingredient in Tylenol and hundreds of other Rx and OTC meds.

And now, I’m not the only one.

In a stunning development, major mainstream medical journals are joining me in sounding the alarm.

Because even when you follow the directions carefully, this drug can still be deadly.

Unsafe at any dose

If you know me, you know how I feel about acetaminophen. It’s a killer…the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S. It’s the reason 78,000 people land in the ER every year.

And I’ve warned you how easy it is to cross a very thin line and take an overdose.

But the danger of accidentally taking too many pills containing this drug wasn’t the focus of a new study in England.

It was rather about the risk of using acetaminophen within “standard dose ranges” — but for longer periods of time. What you might do to treat arthritis, for example.

We already know how destructive it can be to the liver. But this research found that it can damage your kidneys as well, and even cause internal bleeding.

The researchers also discovered acetaminophen ups your risk of having a heart attack, stroke, and developing high blood pressure.

And as if all that wasn’t enough, using the drug at upper-dose levels can increase your chance of dying prematurely by as much as 60 percent.

That’s right, Tylenol and other drugs with acetaminophen — advertised as being safe for nursing mothers and babies — taken as directed for extended periods of time can raise your risk of an early death by 60 percent.

Now that’s a warning you’ll never see on the bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol.

So, you see it’s not just a case of making sure that you’re not double, or triple dosing on it.

Even following the directions to the letter, taking that “innocent” little acetaminophen pill can still destroy your liver, or kidneys, or heart…or kill you.

The British researchers said several times in the study that they believe the “true risk” from this drug is much higher than doctors and nurses have been led to believe.

And while this new research sounded a warning to health professions about the “toxicity” of acetaminophen, there were some things they didn’t mention. Other dangers from the drug that aren’t the result of taking an “overdose” (which is a lot less than most people think). The study didn’t warn doctors that it can cause a life-threatening skin reaction, one that’s like a burn from the inside out, called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Or another reaction called TENs, described as peeling of the skin so horrific that looks like the person was put in a pot of boiling water.

And these reactions not only can occur the very first time you take the drug, but even if you’ve taken it many times before.

But not to worry! The FDA is right on the job, making sure we know all about the dangers associated with Tylenol — and the 600 other drugs that contain acetaminophen.

It has announced plans to issue complete safety guidelines and to decide how it’s going to “regulate” these meds to help keep us safe.

But this is one time we can’t blame Obama’s FDA for the lack of action. No, this happened on Carter’s watch.

That’s right. The FDA promised to figure out how to protect us from acetaminophen back in 1977.

And now, 38 years later, we’re still waiting.

Sources:

“Long-term use of world’s most popular painkiller poses risk: study” March 3, 2015, The Daily News, nydailynews.com

“What you should know about long-term use of acetaminophen” Dennis Thompson, March 4, 2015, Health, news.health.com