Company Recalls Tylenol for Arthritis (Moldy, nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

All available lots of Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100-count bottles, packaged with a distinctive red cap, are being recalled, the drug's maker said.

The move expands an earlier partial recall of the product in November, when five lots were called back after consumers complained of an "unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor," McNeil Consumer Healthcare said in a press release.

It's also the second recall of Tylenol products in two months; a kids' formulation was recalled in September.

In the arthritis medication, the odor was associated with nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea, the company said, adding that the expanded recall is a precaution. McNeil makes other Tylenol arthritis products, and those medications remain on sale.

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The source of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole is believed to be the breakdown of a chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainNews/tylenol-arthritis-caplets-recalled/story?id=9441005

[loudsue]

1. In other words, it prolly came from CHINA!!!

I'm sick of this shit.

[OregonBlue]

4. Agreed, probably from China.

[Robb]

2. "distinctive red cap"

...Am I nuts, or does all Tylenol have a red cap? :shrug:

[cabluedem]

5. tylenol is a notorious liver toxin and should be banned. nt

[BolivarianHero]

6. Why should acetaminophen be banned?

I love it as a cold remedy in my neo-citran...As long as you're not some moran who takes 5,000 mg in a day while getting piss loaded, you'll be fine.

[WriteDown]

7. You an alcoholic?

That is ridiculous.

[bahrbearian]

9. What are you smoking?

Tylenol is the most popular pain killer in America, with literally billions of the tablets or capsules sold each year. Acetaminophen is the generic name for Tylenol, and is found in well over 200 medications. Although the vast majority of consumers consider Tylenol and acetaminophen to be “safe”, acetaminophen-related liver injuries result in over 56,000 emergency room visits each year, 26,000 hospitalizations each year, and over 450 deaths. Acetaminophen is the number one cause of “acute” liver failure in the United States.

In fact, this year an advisory committee to the FDA voted that the single adult acetaminophen dose should be reduced from 1,000 mg (two extra-strength Tylenol) to 650mg. This FDA advisory committee is made up of over 30 doctors and other experts in the area. In addition, the advisory committee expressed concern because many people may unknowingly take multiple combinations of drugs that each contains acetaminophen when they are sick.

Taking too much acetaminophen, or taking acetaminophen when you are fasting (not eating regularly), increases the likelihood that acetaminophen will harm or kill your liver.

[WriteDown]

10. Increases the likelihood?

Right now I'm literally taking a med that can cause you to lose your color vision. I have to be tested every 6 months. I'm not too scared about Tylenol. The solution is not to take on an empty stomach or overdose.

[cabluedem]

16. People like to remain in denial. The makers of Tylenol have done everything possible to suppress...

the fact that Tylenol has damaged many livers and caused many deaths.

How many will probably never be known. They have covered their tracks well.

[loudsue]

11. So true. And some people's livers can't tolerate it at all.

Then if you drink AT ALL and take Tylenol, you're headed for cancer, or sclerosis at the very least.

Every bottle of Tylenol has the warning about it being bad for your liver. It just doesn't tell you how AWFUL it is for your liver.

[WriteDown]

12. Link to that claim?

And please give a few more details about this "sclerosis."

[uppityperson]

13. I think you mean cirrhosis, not sclerosis and I'd like to see link to your claim of "cancer"

[truthisfreedom]

14. Ibuprofen is processed in the kidneys. What do you propose to do for those who have

kidney trouble and need pain relief?

[cabluedem]

17. I am not a doctor. I know only that Tylenol is bad news for livers and its been a hushed up affair .

for years. Ask your doctor what works for kidney issues, not me.

[skids]

18. Or stomach ulcers...

...Tylenol is bad for the liver but it can be the best pain reliever to use for people who have problems with stomach bleeding -- IIRC all the others (aspirin, ibu, aleve) can cause major hurt for people with stomach ulcers or other sorts of internal bleeding issues.

I just started taking acetominophen (Tylenol) just to see if there was any merit to these news articles saying it had some psychosocial effects. I already knew it was bad for the liver, and already knew enough to buy low dose pills, not take too much, not take it every day, and not take it too close to alcohol. I didn't take one this morning for example :party:

I don't feel like anyone has been trying to keep anything from me.

Not that that would be beyond a pharma company to try and hide, and not that they probably had to be forced to put it on the label.

But I'm not one to throw a baby out with the bath water.

Other pain relievers are probably a better choice if there's a reason to use them long term and you don't have an ulcer or anything else like that.

However we cannot continue to pretend that relieving pain is something for "softies" and "pill poppers." There are some very good reasons to relieve pain -- principle among them in the case of ibu is to reduce inflammation, because in some cases inflammation is a runaway immune response that becomes a self-perpetuating medical problem in and of itself.

Take coughing, for example. For years I suffered under the misimpression that "cold medicines" were just symptomic relief and they "don't help you get better" and they "probably do more harm than actual good." When I didn't absolutely have to get something done that required thinking and coordination, I would eschew them. I suffered through many a cold without taking so much as an aspirin.

I figured if my body wanted to cough a lot that was just "my immune system doing its job." As it turns out if I had bothered to look into it, the act of coughing itself is a traumatic event that irritates the throat, which leads to more coughing well in excess of what is needed to clear the lungs. This is a feedback loop that actually causes damage to the body and is counterproductive to the healing process. Some of the OTC medicines can break this feedback loop, and doing so helps more than it hurts.

I hate to say it but for once the "Tylenol-PM" ad campaign is doing a public service by making people realize that a good sleep is very important for health, even if it is just to push their latest re-patented re-hash cocktail pill.

But I think acetaminophen is safe enough for the majority of people who read bottles and actually bother to google a drug or ask a doctor before they put it in their body. Yes there are some people who it can hurt or kill. Also peanuts can do that. The drug isn't so dangerous that a better PR about its dangers and access to health care that actually bothers to pre-test you to see if a commonly available pill is going to kill you (instead of just telling you to turn your head and cough) couldn't fix the problem.

As it is, you'd have to do some "grim accounting" to figure out how many lives/illnesses OTC Tylenol saves versus causes. It's not enough to just say some people have a reaction to it.

But as a start, if we could get people to take the stuff written on the side of the pill bottles seriously, that might be good.

[MineralMan]

3. Hmm...I always sniff bottles of OTC drugs

the first time I open them. If they smell different from what I'm used to with that product, back to the store they go. Doesn't everyone do that? Sheesh! I do the same with prescription drugs.

"Hey, honey. Does this Tylenol smell funny to you? Aw...never mind, I'll take it anyhow."

[WriteDown]

8. Wouldn't doubt this is a packaging issue. nt

[defendandprotect]

15. "Company" recalls . . . what company . . . ???

[jmowreader]

19. One advantage of acetaminophen: no false positives on drug tests

If you get piss tested for work, this is an issue: acetaminophen and aspirin are the only two OTC pain relievers that haven't got a track record of throwing off false positives on marijuana tests.