Acetaminophen

Acetaminophen is one of the most common drugs in the world. Acetaminophen is the United States Adopted Name of what is referred to as Paracetamol in the International Nonproprietary Name system. What is Acetaminophen? Acetaminophen is an analgesic drug; this means that Acetaminophen is used to reduce pain. Acetaminophen is also an antipyretic drug; this is a kind of drug that reduces an abnormally high body temperature, so it can reduce one's temperature when it is elevated due to a fever (although under normal conditions an antipyretic will not lower a body temperature which is already at normal). The most common situation in which Acetaminophen is taken is when one has a cold and wants to reduce the symptoms so that they can either get to sleep or otherwise continue on with their lives. When Acetaminophen is used in this way, it can lengthen the duration of a cold even though it reduces the severity of the symptoms.

It is possible to have an Acetaminophen overdose. Since Acetaminophen is primarily metabolized in the liver, a too large dose of Acetaminophen can cause damage to the liver (a liver Acetaminophen overdose) and this can even be fatal. The amount of Acetaminophen required to cause Acetaminophen overdose symptoms ranging from Acetaminophen toxicity to a fatal Acetaminophen overdose or other serious side effects of Acetaminophen differs between adults and children as well as from person to person.

For a child Acetaminophen toxicity can occur if a child is given a dose which is above 200 mg per kg, and for an adult the level of Acetaminophen at which toxic effects begin to appear can commonly be found around 150 mg per kg. You should also be careful not to mix Acetaminophen and alcohol or Acetaminophen with codeine.

Acetaminophen is most commonly sold as Tylenol in the United States, although there are various other brand names which are basically Acetaminophen and you may also find it labeled simply "Acetaminophen". Some people have issues with the strength of Tylenol and other brands of Acetaminophen or with the other ingredients that are included with Acetaminophen. The internet is the fastest way to find info on an FDA Acetaminophen recall, Perrigo Acetaminophen recall or any other kind of Acetaminophen recall as well as info on topics such as separating hydrocodone from Acetaminophen (the other best place to hear about when companies recall Acetaminophen is on the evening news).