Acetaminophen is also known as paracetamol and by the brand name Tylenol. It is used as a pain reliever and fever reducer and is often bundled into other medications. It has been in the news the last few years because of the risk of overdose and liver damage, and a lot of combination children's medicines that include it have been removed from the market because of the risk that parents may not understand and may overdose the child with the combination medicine and a separate dose of acetaminophen.
the researchers discovered that a mother using acetaminophen at 18 weeks of pregnancy was associated with a greater chance of her child becoming hyperactive or developing conduct problems. At 32 weeks into pregnancy, a mother's use of acetaminophen was linked to higher odds of her child having emotional symptoms, conduct problems and hyperactivity symptoms.
"It is important to note there are no studies demonstrating a causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and adverse effects on child development," said Marc Boston, a spokesman for McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the maker of Tylenol.
Acetaminophen has long been considered safe for use during pregnancy.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 18 2016, @01:08AM
Reports at 11 (10 MST).
That said, tylenol seems worse than useless. It doesn't kill pain. It doesn't reduce inflamation. What the fuck is it for, other than poisoning your liver?
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Thursday August 18 2016, @01:29AM
As far as I can tell, the primary purpose is to mix it with other working medicines like codeine (here sold as Panadeine Forte) so that you can't just take a bunch of pills and have a trip. If you take just enough for the codeine to work as a painkiller, the paracetamol probably won't kill your liver.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Thursday August 18 2016, @01:34AM
Or just use marijuana if you need a strong painkiller.
I'm not personally a fan of the stuff, but it's pretty much undeniable it is effective at treating likes like pain and nausea. And certainly safer than the alternatives.
But, in general, you're better off treating the cause of the pain rather than the pain. Painkillers like pot and opioids are really only appropriate for conditions where there isn't a treatment for the underlying condition. But, even then, I'd personally recommend giving hypnosis a try as that's completely safe and generally effective for pain management.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 18 2016, @04:26AM
After an earthquake, more people die from kidney failure cased by crush wounds than killed in the actual earthquake. The kidney failure can be prevented by giving the victims an inexpensive drug, acetaminophen.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-painkiller-injuries-idUSTRE6105R420100201 [reuters.com]