Search This Blog

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Acetaminophen WARNING In The NEWS

Got a headache? Take a Tylenol. Body Aches? Take a Tylenol? Doing strenuous activity that you don't normally do? Take a Tylenol, it won't hurt you. Arthritis?, Joint Pain, Back pain?, Worked to hard in the garden? or lawn work etc., just don't feel good today? Take a Tylenol or TWO.

If this sounds familiar, I want you to read the article from Dr. Mercola.  Tylenol is probably the most common source of acetaminophen, however not the only one. Before you take another one, read the facts and then decide.

LIST of products containing ACETAMINOPHEN that you probably never thought of:

http://www.drugs.com/ingredient/acetaminophen.html



 "That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth." Deuteronomy 11:21

The part can never be well unless the whole is well. -Plato

A man’s health can be judged by which he takes two at a time – pills or stairs. -Joan Welsh

Dan

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/03/13/acetaminophen-pregnancy.aspx?e_cid=20140313Z1_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20140313Z1&et_cid=DM40715&et_rid=455001138

EXCERPT:

Many view over-the-counter (OTC) drugs as safe because they don't require a prescription. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, many OTC drugs were previously carefully monitored prescription drugs.
OTC drugs are still chemicals that in no way, shape, or form treat the cause of your problem, and can lead to complications that can seriously injure and even kill. The pain reliever and fever reducer acetaminophen is one such example.
Most people will take this medication without thinking twice about it, which is probably why acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause for calls to Poison Control Centers across the US every year. Acetaminophen is also responsible for more than 56,000 emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and an estimated 458 deaths due to acute liver failure1 each year.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally added warnings about liver damage to the drug’s label in 2009. This action came 32 years after a panel of experts advised the agency it was "obligatory" to do so...
Then, on January 14 this year, the FDA issued a statement2, 3 urging health professionals to discontinue prescribing and dispensing prescription combination drug products that contain more than 325 milligrams (mg) of acetaminophen per tablet, capsule, or other dosage unit, to limit the risk of serious side effects.
Keep in mind that certain prescription painkillers, such as Vicodin and Percocet, also contain acetaminophen and should therefore not be mixed with other acetaminophen-containing medications.

Acetaminophen During Pregnancy May Promote ADHD in Children

Now, a team of researchers are raising questions about the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy, as it may raise the risk of behavior problems in your child later on. The study, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics,4 notes that “[r]esearch data suggest that acetaminophen is a hormone disruptor, and abnormal hormonal exposures in pregnancy may influence fetal brain development.”
While they say it’s too early to make any definitive recommendations to the public, a “heads-up” warning is certainly warranted. As reported by Forbes:5
“...since the results do suggest that prenatal use may as much as double the risk of behavior disorders in the child, pregnant women may want to take the study into consideration, or talk with their doctors.”
The study included data from more than 64,000 mothers and children in the Danish National Birth Cohort. Over 50 percent of the women reported taking acetaminophen while pregnant, which was found to be linked to:
  • A 30 percent increased risk for ADHD in the child during the first seven years of life
  • 37 percent increased risk of being diagnosed with hyperkinetic disorder (HKD), a severe form of ADHD
Behavioral effects appeared to be dose dependent. The more frequent the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy, the higher the offspring’s chances of being diagnosed with ADHD-related problems.
Children of women who used the drug for 20 or more weeks during pregnancy had nearly double the risk of getting an HKD diagnosis. They also had a 50 percent greater chance of being prescribed an ADHD medication. According to the featured article:6
“Acetaminophen can cross the placenta, making its way to the fetus and its delicate developing nervous system. The drug is a known endocrine (hormone) disrupter, and has previously been linked to undescended testes in male infants.
Since the maternal hormone environment plays a critical role in the development of the fetus, the authors say that it’s ‘possible that acetaminophen may interrupt brain development by interfering with maternal hormones or via neurotoxicity such as the induction of oxidative stress that can cause neuronal death.’”

ADHD on the Rise

I believe it’s imperative to be aware of, and abstain from, as many potential neurotoxins as possible during pregnancy to protect the health of your child. Our environment is saturated with such a wide variety of toxins, and you may not be able to defend yourself against each and every one of them, but you do have a great degree of control within your own immediate household.
The food and drinks you ingest, and the household, personal care, and medical products you opt to use during pregnancy can have a distinct impact on your child’s development and long-term health. Behavioral problems such as ADHD have skyrocketed over the past few decades, signaling that something is awry. Our environment is becoming overly toxic, and children are paying the price for our chemical-laden lifestyles.
According to a 2010 US government survey, 1 in 10 American children now has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—a 22 percent increase from 2003. ADHD makes it hard for children to pay attention and control impulsive behavior, and about two-thirds of the children diagnosed with ADHD are on some form of prescription medication. Such medications, in turn, are poisoning the kids even further. Potential side effects of ADHD drugs include:
Permanent brain damageCardio toxicity and liver damageCancer
Changes in personality, depression, and/orhallucinationsHeart attack and strokeSudden death andsuicide

Other Harmful Effects Associated with Acetaminophen Use

Besides liver damage, acetaminophen has also been linked to other serious side effects, including kidney dysfunction when taken with alcohol, and potentially lethal skin reactions: Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TENS), and acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP). (For more information about these potentially lethal skin reactions, please see my previous article on this topic.)
The FDA added a warning about potential skin reactions to prescription acetaminophen product labels last year. There’s no way to predict who might be at increased risk for such side effects, so please heed the FDA’s recommendation9 and do NOT take acetaminophen again if you’ve ever had a skin reaction when taking it.
Research published in the past few years have also linked chronic, high use of acetaminophen to an increased risk for blood cancers. The definition of "high" use was using acetaminophen at least four times a week for at least four years -- an amount that many Americans could easily exceed without even realizing it.
Little-known research from 2009 suggests acetaminophen might also render vaccinations less effective when administered together. According to this study,10 infants who received acetaminophen right after getting a vaccination experienced lowered immune response, developing significantly fewer antibodies against the disease they were vaccinated against. The vaccines used in the study were for pneumococcal disease, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, polio, and rotavirus. (No flu vaccines were included. However, it’s likely the effect might still be the same.)  The authors concluded that:
“Although febrile reactions significantly decreased, prophylactic administration of antipyretic drugs at the time of vaccination should not be routinely recommended since antibody responses to several vaccine antigens were reduced.”

No comments:

Post a Comment