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Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

latimes.com

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Re: Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

#41

Post by privateersman »

marpstar wrote: post #36
rabboRubble wrote: post #33

Acetaminophen is one of the more dangerous over the counter drugs available. It is right up there with alcohol for causing liver failure. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/liver-failure/... The tricky thing with acetaminophen is that it is included in products without adequate warning. If I'm sick, I have a headache and take 2 tylenol, plus cold medicine, plus whatever, and BAM I've killed my liver becaus…

I never take acetaminophen anymore and generally only take ibuprofen, and only a few times a year. Serious question: Why do people even take acetaminophen anymore?

If you somehow manage to damage yourself from taking too much paracetamol then that's the least of your worries - it's probably a sign that you need a carer.

Re: Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

#42

Post by cheald »

marpstar wrote: post #36
rabboRubble wrote: post #33

Acetaminophen is one of the more dangerous over the counter drugs available. It is right up there with alcohol for causing liver failure. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/liver-failure/... The tricky thing with acetaminophen is that it is included in products without adequate warning. If I'm sick, I have a headache and take 2 tylenol, plus cold medicine, plus whatever, and BAM I've killed my liver becaus…

I never take acetaminophen anymore and generally only take ibuprofen, and only a few times a year. Serious question: Why do people even take acetaminophen anymore?

Acetaminophen isn't an NSAID, which makes it your first choice if you need pain relief and are at risk for bleeding or are on blood thinners.

Relevant to the article, ibuprofen is a pregnancy category D drug, which is basically "do not take this, period". It substantially increases the chance of heart and lung issues in the child, reduces amniotic fluid levels, and puts the mother at severe risk of excessive bleeding during delivery. Thus, if you're in need of pain management when you're pregnant, acetaminophen tends to be the go-to recommendation.

Personally, I take Excedrin for the occassional headache, because the combination of acetaminophen/aspirin/caffeine reliably kills my headaches in a way that ibuprofen doesn't. Ibuprofen tends to be my go-to for anything inflammation-related.

Re: Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

#43

Post by pkaye »

marpstar wrote: post #36
rabboRubble wrote: post #33

Acetaminophen is one of the more dangerous over the counter drugs available. It is right up there with alcohol for causing liver failure. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/liver-failure/... The tricky thing with acetaminophen is that it is included in products without adequate warning. If I'm sick, I have a headache and take 2 tylenol, plus cold medicine, plus whatever, and BAM I've killed my liver becaus…

I never take acetaminophen anymore and generally only take ibuprofen, and only a few times a year. Serious question: Why do people even take acetaminophen anymore?

Ibuprofen certainly isn't safe either for the kidneys.

Re: Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

#44

Post by pkaye »

pessimizer wrote: post #14

What an unnecessary, garbage drug; one that's responsible for half the liver failures in the United States. Maybe a restriction on pregnant women taking it could move it behind the counter, or better, into the dimly-remembered past.

I cannot take NSAIDs so Acetaminophen remains the only non prescription option for the occasions I need it. I still try to avoid it when possible and keep a careful tally of how much I take.

Re: Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

#45

Post by contingencies »

wahern wrote: post #30
contingencies wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. Have ibuprofen too but it apparently has nasty side effects if you take it too long. Right now I am looking at weeks, so trying to limit consumption. Was given one SAID and one NSAID but also too many side effects for my liking.

The amount and duration needed to see side effects with ibuprofen is much more compared to acetaminophen. Look at the actual research and the amounts and durations studied. Ibuprofen is ridiculously safe if you're outside particular known risk groups, and often even then. Generalized side effects like hearing loss are far preferable to, e.g., the deaths that acetaminophen regularly causes. But AFAIU hearing loss is e…

Thanks for sharing your father's story. Luckily my pain isn't chronic level, so I am tapering off already after a few days. My heaviest use is 6-8 OTC pills over 24 hours, probably not considered out of normal. Personally, however, I'm for OTC codeine. It costs nothing to produce, is stupendously effective, and the only problem is potential addiction (the least of all opiates IIRC) which is basically a non-issue with (cheap) supply.

Re: Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

#46

Post by rabboRubble »

marpstar wrote: post #36
rabboRubble wrote: post #33

Acetaminophen is one of the more dangerous over the counter drugs available. It is right up there with alcohol for causing liver failure. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/liver-failure/... The tricky thing with acetaminophen is that it is included in products without adequate warning. If I'm sick, I have a headache and take 2 tylenol, plus cold medicine, plus whatever, and BAM I've killed my liver becaus…

I never take acetaminophen anymore and generally only take ibuprofen, and only a few times a year. Serious question: Why do people even take acetaminophen anymore?

The reason I am freaked about acetaminophen is that I suffer from migraines. The most effective OTC medicine for me is Excedrin Migraine (a combo of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine). I didn’t realize that this med contained acetaminophen. I also didn’t realize that the product name Tylenol equaled acetaminophen. Only put things together when I heard about people overdosing and examined my medicine cabinet and check product labels. I think I had 3-4 different medications that contained some amount of acetaminophen, mostly cold medications. I know I’ve taken most of them in combination and probably in an unsafe way.

I also had no idea the overdose margins were so thin. I’ve taken a shit ton of Excedrin Migraine over my life. And Theraflu. And double doses of Excedrin Migraine after a does of straight aspirin or Tylenol didn't work alone.

Given the easy ability to overdose, I am of the opinion that acetaminophen should be sold singly and not in combination with anything else. Even if that means Excedrin Migraine doses come in a two pill combo. This way, people could easily calculate a total daily dose without it being in an unexpected product.

It's a miracle I still have a functioning liver.

Re: Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

#47

Post by bdamm »

fifteenforty wrote: post #34

Anaesthesia trainee here (doctor, similar to an anesthesiology resident in US vocabulary) I've read the actual referenced paper and not the LA times piece. This type of research is hypothesis generating. As they acknowledge, this shows a correlation, not causation. The big question here is why were these women taking paracetamol/acetaminophen? Was it the drug or the cause of their pain/fever/discomfort that is more r…

My reading of the study was that the indication measured was if the mother had remembered taking Acetaminophen and not a direct measure of her actual Tylenol intake. So the study should read "mothers who remembered their drug intake have a slightly elevated risk of attention deficit children."

Re: Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

#48

Post by fifteenforty »

bdamm wrote: post #47
fifteenforty wrote: post #34

Anaesthesia trainee here (doctor, similar to an anesthesiology resident in US vocabulary) I've read the actual referenced paper and not the LA times piece. This type of research is hypothesis generating. As they acknowledge, this shows a correlation, not causation. The big question here is why were these women taking paracetamol/acetaminophen? Was it the drug or the cause of their pain/fever/discomfort that is more r…

My reading of the study was that the indication measured was if the mother had remembered taking Acetaminophen and not a direct measure of her actual Tylenol intake. So the study should read "mothers who remembered their drug intake have a slightly elevated risk of attention deficit children."

Good point. It adds yet another layer of uncertainty to the findings.

Re: Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

#49

Post by robbiep »

marpstar wrote: post #36
rabboRubble wrote: post #33

Acetaminophen is one of the more dangerous over the counter drugs available. It is right up there with alcohol for causing liver failure. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/liver-failure/... The tricky thing with acetaminophen is that it is included in products without adequate warning. If I'm sick, I have a headache and take 2 tylenol, plus cold medicine, plus whatever, and BAM I've killed my liver becaus…

I never take acetaminophen anymore and generally only take ibuprofen, and only a few times a year. Serious question: Why do people even take acetaminophen anymore?

> why do people even take acetaminophen anymore?

- why did you stop? If you're an otherwise healthy person (not an alcoholic or don't have liver disease) then paracetamol is a great drug. A low level anti-inflammatory that doesn't cause GI upset or have anti platelet action

Re: Acetaminophen use in pregnancy linked to child's behavioral problems

#50

Post by stordoff »

contingencies wrote: post #45
wahern wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The amount and duration needed to see side effects with ibuprofen is much more compared to acetaminophen. Look at the actual research and the amounts and durations studied. Ibuprofen is ridiculously safe if you're outside particular known risk groups, and often even then. Generalized side effects like hearing loss are far preferable to, e.g., the deaths that acetaminophen regularly causes. But AFAIU hearing loss is e…

Thanks for sharing your father's story. Luckily my pain isn't chronic level, so I am tapering off already after a few days. My heaviest use is 6-8 OTC pills over 24 hours, probably not considered out of normal. Personally, however, I'm for OTC codeine. It costs nothing to produce, is stupendously effective, and the only problem is potential addiction (the least of all opiates IIRC) which is basically a non-issue with…

I'm also in favour of OTC codeine with appropiate box warnings etc. (it works very well for me [currently prescribed], and the difference between an analgesic dose and a fatal dose is fairly wide - 15-60mg vs 100s mg). That said, calling potential addiction a non-issue is a little on the optimistic side. Codeine combinations (with ibuprofen or paracetamol/acetaminophen) are OTC in the UK, and problematic addictions (ever-increasing doses, dependence, impacts on work/family) are certainly not unheard of.
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