Careful with that Tylenol - Cold remedies kill Ft Bliss soldier

[charlie]

Two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, but Nyquil killed him.

EL PASO -- A decorated Fort Bliss soldier who survived two snipers' bullets apparently died of acetaminophen poisoning earlier this week in a Washington, D.C., hospital, his parents said Friday.

Sgt. Jason Stegall, 31, of Birmingham, Ala., was working on the post's training ranges when he came down with a persistent cold, said the soldier's mother, Tina Stegall. In a telephone interview from the family home in Birmingham, she said her son was taking NyQuil and other cold remedies to treat a fever and other aches and pains.

Doctors told the family the acetaminophen in those medicines shut down her son's liver, she said.

The soldier was hospitalized at Beaumont Army Medical Center. He died Monday at Georgetown University Hospital...

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_14029643

(I don't know how much longer the link will last. This idiot newspaper throws articles into pay-per-view limbo after a couple of days. No one else is covering the story, unfortunately)

[WyLoochka]

1. Even many doctors don't know

that acetaminophen damages the liver. Last week, I had a doctor tell me to take nothing but Tylenol following a minor procedure, if I had pain. When I told him my liver couldn't take that, he was shocked.

I've been trying to tell them for thirty years - ever since I was put on Tylenol #3 for a dry socket. My liver almost gave out then.

[Echo In Light]

2. Many will also play dumb as to the very real dangerous side effects of fluoroquinolone antibiotics

[Echo In Light]

8. BTW, I only mention it as Cipro/Levaquin are handed out like candy

[charlie]

3. It's odd a doctor wouldn't know that

He's never wondered why opiates are often compounded with a piddling analgesic like acetaminophen? I hope he learned something from your exchange.

[Warpy]

4. Tylenol, taken as directed, is safe

The problem is that people don't read labels, wash it down with alcohol, or just think since a little works, more will work better. Some really unfortunate people have liver disease or a drug sensitivity and should never take it.

Personally, I'd like to see all cold remedies delete the Tylenol from the combination formulas. It's too easy for people to think they need to take Tylenol along with cold medicine, even though the cold medicine contains more Tylenol. Even a mild overdose can damage one's liver. Mixing several combination medications can be lethal.

Nyquil is especially bad since it mixes Tylenol with alcohol.

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

5. total horsemanure

Tylenol is NOT safe: "Analysis of national databases show that acetaminophen-associated overdoses account for about 56000 emergency room visits and 26000 hospitalizations yearly." (from the FDA, even).

That is NOT "safe": shite, it isn't anywhere CLOSE to "safe'. Hell, so many people know it that acetaminophen is a favorite tool of suicides in this country.

If you think that is "safe" we need to define our terminology a bit more clearly, I think.

On edit: and these drugs are made even MORE dangerous when poorly informed people go around chanting "they are perfectly safe!".

[Warpy]

6. Overdosing is not taking it as directed.

Please read the post instead of the headline and please consider what "as directed" means.

Thank you.

[surrealAmerican]

7. That seems to be what happened to this poor fellow.

Too many "multi-symptom" medicines, all containing tylenol. Unlike aspirin, it doesn't take very much to overdose on that stuff.

[Tesha]

10. Removing Tylenol from "compound drugs"...

That seems like the obvious solution, doesn't it? The presence
of "hidden acetomeniphen" in all sorts of suprising places seems
to be the root cause of a lot of the incidences of poisoning.

But if we banned such usage, McNeil would probably sell a lot
less Tylenol, ehh? Can't have that!

Tesha

[Berry Cool]

9. There's a reason acetaminophen is poisonous to cats; their livers can't metabolize it at all.

Obviously, ours can, but they too can go into overload if given too much to handle at a time.