Acetaminophen Overdose Linked to Liver Failure

A recent FDA Consumer Corner Bulletin explains the danger of overtaking over the counter headache medication:

If you woke up with a headache this morning, you may have reached for an over-the-counter pain reliever. Millions of people do that everyday, and there's usually no problem. Over-the-counter pain relievers are effective for treating minor aches and pains. But they're only safe if you follow the directions.

That's particularly important with acetaminophen, an active ingredient in many over-the-counter and prescription medicines that are used to relieve pain or reduce a fever. Acetaminophen is generally safe at recommended doses, but if you take more than that, even just a little more, it can cause serious, even fatal liver damage. In fact, acetaminophen poisoning is a leading cause of liver failure in this country.

You don't have to look very far to find acetaminophen. It's sold under a number of brand names, such as Tylenol, and it's often included with other ingredients in over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, as well as sleep aids. Acetaminophen is also found in prescription medicines, such as Vicodin and Percocet, but that may not be clear from the label.

If you take several medicines that all contain acetaminophen, you might take more than the recommended dose without realizing it.

To avoid taking too much acetaminophen, it's important to know if your medicine contains it. If you're taking an over-the-counter medicine, look for the name acetaminophen on the Drug Facts label under the section called "Active Ingredients." If you're taking a prescription medicine and you don't know the active ingredients, ask your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

Then follow all the directions on the Drug Facts label or prescription label. For safety's sake, don't take more than one medicine at a time that contains acetaminophen. And don't take more than the maximum amount, even if your pain or fever isn't getting better. Be sure you know how many hours you need to wait before taking another dose.

If you have 3 or more alcoholic drinks per day or have liver disease, this could increase your risk of liver damage, so talk to your doctor before taking medicines that contain acetaminophen.

Finally, when giving acetaminophen to children, make sure to use the right formulation for your child's age and weight. Use that formulation in the right amount and at the right time. To avoid error, use the measuring tool that comes with the medicine and keep a record of the times and doses you give your child. Share that record with your child's caregivers, so they'll know how much medicine your child has had.

If you take acetaminophen, please be careful. Read the label and follow the directions.

Headaches are our country’s most common ailment and the number one reason why patients visit the doctor. Forty-Five Million (45,000,000) Americans suffer from chronic headaches.  What they don’t know is that headaches and neck pain are often cased by a simple problem, loss of the normal neck curve.  Therefore, by restoring the natural curve in the neck you can actually eliminate headache, arthritis and neck pain.

If your headache is as a result of loss of the cervical curve try our CCCD.  Scientific studies have shown that loss of neck curve is a major cause of the chronic pain that so many suffer.  The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics published a study which investigated cervical (neck) extension-compression traction with the purpose of establishing or increasing the cervical lordosis (neck curve) and concluded that an increase was in fact established in the majority of the treatment group.  A CCCD  (Cervical Curve Correction Device) like the one shown below is a tested and proven health care tool used to stretch and strengthen the connective tissues of the neck back to its natural curve.

The home CCCD shown below is a lightweight cost effective version of the CCCD developed by the same Doctor who created the very CCCD used in this research study.  This product has been shown to effectively restore the neck curve in pre/post x-ray studies.

A normal healthy posture when viewed from the side should reveal a position where the ear is balanced over the shoulder and the neck maintains a forward curved position. The normal neck curve is commonly reduced or altered due to trauma or poor postural habits. To return the neck curve toward a normal healthy position it is necessary to strengthen the muscles in the back of the neck and to stretch the damaged ligaments of the neck. The ligaments of the neck will “creep” toward a normal position just as the teeth do with braces.