Acetaminophen: Important Information
Barbara Olson, Nurse, Other Clinical,
Jan 16, 2010
Acetaminophen is making the news cycle again this week, with FDA posting a second voluntary product recall of Tylenol and other OTC medications on 1-15-10. The recalls arose after consumers noted and reported a musty, moldy odor in a specific Tylenol product (Tylenol Arthritis Pain 100 Count with Ez-Open Cap) in December. You can read about the recall here.
The manufacturer's investigation suggested the odor arose from a packaging issue and that other products, including some benadryl products and Rolaids, may have been affected. This led to a second voluntary recall yesterday. But the easiest way to identify the affected products is to hit the site McNeil set up, which provides visuals with product-specific names and packaging cues and clues.
To access McNeil's site, see this Psychlinks post for information and links
I am running Twitter (with an active "Tylenol" search window open) in the background as I write this post. And my search alert icon is firing like mad, suggesting that people take this seriously and are passing the information along. That's great. (Even though the harm potential, according to the FDA, appears to be small based on the information known at this time.)
But what I'd like to call out, point out, and shout out is this: safe use of acetaminophen deserves a lot more attention than it gets each and every day. A product recall is a good time to mention other hazards that, unlike the recall, will not soon go away. So if you have the opportunity to help a patient, friend, or family member find out if they have purchased an affected OTC product, use the "teachable moment" to discuss safe acetaminophen use.
In the spring of last year, FDA held a meeting to discuss how the problem of liver injury--the most common adverse effect when too much acetaminophen is consumed in too short a period of time--can be addressed. An easy-to-read summation of the risks and prevention strategies issued after the meeting can be found .
To a consumer, acetaminophen is something of a "secret square," appearing in many combination cough and cold products as well as prescription pain medications (such as Vicodin and Percocet). "APAP" is often used to designate acetaminophen, adding complexity to multi-agent drug names. Consumers may not realize they are taking multiple products that contain acetaminophen, an error that can cause significant liver damage in a short window of time.
Barbara Olson, Nurse, Other Clinical,
Jan 16, 2010
Acetaminophen is making the news cycle again this week, with FDA posting a second voluntary product recall of Tylenol and other OTC medications on 1-15-10. The recalls arose after consumers noted and reported a musty, moldy odor in a specific Tylenol product (Tylenol Arthritis Pain 100 Count with Ez-Open Cap) in December. You can read about the recall here.
The manufacturer's investigation suggested the odor arose from a packaging issue and that other products, including some benadryl products and Rolaids, may have been affected. This led to a second voluntary recall yesterday. But the easiest way to identify the affected products is to hit the site McNeil set up, which provides visuals with product-specific names and packaging cues and clues.
To access McNeil's site, see this Psychlinks post for information and links
I am running Twitter (with an active "Tylenol" search window open) in the background as I write this post. And my search alert icon is firing like mad, suggesting that people take this seriously and are passing the information along. That's great. (Even though the harm potential, according to the FDA, appears to be small based on the information known at this time.)
But what I'd like to call out, point out, and shout out is this: safe use of acetaminophen deserves a lot more attention than it gets each and every day. A product recall is a good time to mention other hazards that, unlike the recall, will not soon go away. So if you have the opportunity to help a patient, friend, or family member find out if they have purchased an affected OTC product, use the "teachable moment" to discuss safe acetaminophen use.
In the spring of last year, FDA held a meeting to discuss how the problem of liver injury--the most common adverse effect when too much acetaminophen is consumed in too short a period of time--can be addressed. An easy-to-read summation of the risks and prevention strategies issued after the meeting can be found .
To a consumer, acetaminophen is something of a "secret square," appearing in many combination cough and cold products as well as prescription pain medications (such as Vicodin and Percocet). "APAP" is often used to designate acetaminophen, adding complexity to multi-agent drug names. Consumers may not realize they are taking multiple products that contain acetaminophen, an error that can cause significant liver damage in a short window of time.
