Jan
26
2012
The Deadly Effects Of Acetaminophen
There were a significant number of reports on the deadly effects of acetaminophen that were enough to catch the attention of the Food and Drug Administration back in 2009. The agency then proposed to lower the dosage in order to reduce risks, as well as to begin labeling the boxes on possible liver damage if not taken exactly as prescribed.
Acetaminophen was developed as a pain reliever and has been considered one of the safest in the painkiller medicine market. However, there have been adverse effects when people, under the assumption that it is safe, take it beyond the maximum required dosage much too frequently.
Many parents know acetaminophen by its generic name, paracetamol, and this has become a source for controversy for those who know of its adverse effects since this is commonly used in children’s cough and cold or flu medications, to control fever symptoms. The risk of over dosage in the home is significantly increased as parents are unaware of the drug’s formulations especially if this exists in other formulas that the child may also be taking for other conditions.
Many medications use acetaminophen as an added ingredient in their formulations in order to achieve maximum effect in symptomatic relief, especially for pain and fever during times of cold and cough. People are unaware that they may have already introduced acetaminophen into their system by taking one type of medication for a common cold, and then they decide to take acetaminophen in a concentrated dosage form for a migraine headache, for example. Unwittingly, they have overdosed the acetaminophen and this could lead to bigger and more lethal complications.
Excess acetaminophen intake can result in considerable liver damage if not controlled and allowed to gradually develop. There is an antioxidant known as glutathione which is produced biologically by the liver to provide natural protection from cell degeneration, and this can be sorely affected if acetaminophen compounds (metabolites) overwhelm the glutathione completely and the body is unable to produce enough to sustain cell growth.
Low levels of glutathione can result in deterioration of cells, leading to all sorts of complications that are physically manifested as wasting away of an individual’s overall cellular makeup. The wasting away of cells can be seen in examples of diseases such as AIDS and cancer which seem to have no other cure except to target treatment at the cellular level.
It has been believed that raising levels of glutathione in cases where there has been report of cellular level deterioration may actually stop or reverse the slow degeneration of cells. However, this may remain as a theory since raising levels of glutathione can be relatively difficult in spite of claims by many natural herbal products on the market today.
The liver is the first to be affected by excess acetaminophen dosage, as this drug works directly with this organ in an attempt to address symptomatic issues as soon as possible. This is the reason that damage occurs here first and foremost when the drug is not taken at the recommended controlled levels. However, there are no ways of controlling an individual’s lifestyle or how he or she chooses to self medicate in order to get past symptoms of certain conditions. Acetaminophen has been known to react adversely to people with existing liver damage from heavy alcohol intake, or other liver conditions.
Common symptoms of possible liver failure are pain in the right upper abdominal area, the whites of the eyes have a yellowish tinge, pale stools, and dark colored urine. Medical doctors have to be well informed of patient history in terms of drug usage in order to have an idea on what treatments to recommend, especially if one is starting to show signs of liver dysfunction.
Butalbital APAP Caffeine

Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.