Acetaminophen's safety called into question by FDA

A government panel meeting today and yesterday to study the hazards of over-the-counter and prescription drugs containing acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, Nyquil, Allerest and Pamprin, has been attempting to decide which of several proposed actions to take. Among the ideas are the removal of all of these medications from store shelves. Also mentioned was reducing the amount of the drug in some pharmaceuticals, and using a "Black Box" warning about possible liver damage on product packaging. In some cases, where there are certain combination drugs containing acetaminophen and other drugs and/or narcotics as well, which are only available by prescription, they will have to take a different approach, treating such medications separately, according to the advisory panel. Another possibility is lowering the recommended daily maximum dosage. More warnings are also needed, the panel is aware, of the dangers of consuming alcohol along with these medications. The group, formed by the Federal Drug Administration, has to vote on all the proposals they have come up with. While the FDA is not obliged to follow their recommendations, since they initiated the action, it is highly likely they will adopt at least some of the nine ideas the panel is considering.

The reason for the government's interest in this common, popular analgesic is because of the numerous reports of liver damage it has caused. Routinely used for pain and fever reduction, acetaminophen overdose or misuse has been pinpointed in at least 56,000 emergency room cases, 26,000 hospitalizations, and 458 confirmed deaths, since the 1990s. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cite, in their report of 2007, that this pain-reliever is implicated in roughly 1,600 liver failures in the US annually. What has not been mentioned so far by either the CDC or FDA is that acetaminophen is available world-wide. How many other cases of liver damage or other side effects have been attributed to the drug in other countries?

In the event people should decide to forego acetaminophen products or lower their usage of them, there are safe, non-pharmaceutical alternatives. For pain relief, acupuncture or acupressure is highly effective and does not have any interactions with drugs, nor will it harm the body in any way. The needles, which scare off many people, are very fine, barely noticeable, sterile, and are discarded after each use. For those still not willing to try this approach, acupressure offers the same results but with gentle pressure only. Massage, biofeedback, chiropractic, ayurvedic and herbal medicine all offer pain treatment as well, taking more individualized approaches tailored to the patient's particular needs.

Whatever the method chosen for pain control, it is important to consider all the factors involved in your health, rather than focusing on merely suppressing one symptom. Pain should not be treated as simply the entire condition, as a disease, when it is truly nature's way of sending a message that something inside the body is malfunctioning. A better way is to treat the body, mind and spirit as one whole unit, realizing that whatever is done to one will have repercussions on the rest of this unified system overall.