There must be 50 ways to harm your liver, here are two

[HysteryDiagnosis]

Alcohol in combination with Tylenol... or either alone to excess.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000929.html
Acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure, even if we leave alcohol out of the picture. According to one study, it accounts for 20 percent of cases (Schiodt et al, Liver Transplantation and Surgery, January 1999) An as-yet-unpublished follow-up puts the number even higher--30 percent. Acute liver failure isn't that common. Still, 70,000 cases of acetaminophen toxicity are reported each year.

The real problem with drugs like Tylenol is that the difference between a therapeutic (that is, medically effective) dose and a toxic one is surprisingly small. In adults the maximum safe dosage is four grams (eight 500-milligram tablets) over a 24-hour period. The toxic dose is a mere seven grams taken all at once.

You can make the margin even thinner by drinking too much and eating too little. I'll spare you the biochemistry, but basically acetaminophen and alcohol in combination overwhelm the liver's ability to remove toxins from your bloodstream. At the same time, starving yourself reduces the liver's output of glutathione, a natural detoxicant produced in response to food.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Out here, nothing makes the Rescue Squads move faster...

Than a Acetominiphen overdose. Nothing. They get one of them and it's all hands on deck, beaucoup fast.

And we get a lot of them when we have a cyclical spike in suicide attempts. We get a lot of those spikes, too. Luckily, we are in the slow season now. 2-3 months ago, we weren't. It was ugly.

[greenman3610]

3. ugly way to die

teenage girls looking to do a
theatric "suicide attempt" will use the
Children's Tylenol to OD.
They don't realize they can
kill their liver.

[Warpy]

9. The WORST

Oh, they'll die, but they'll puke their guts out for three solid weeks before it happens. There is nothing we can give them for comfort, either, since all our antinausea drugs are metabolized in the liver.

Sometimes a failed suicide will get lucky and the liver will begin to repair itself. However, it's a very long, miserable way back.

I think Tylenol should be issued with a strong warning about attempted suicide and about the synergistic effect on the liver with alcohol.

It's a great drug when taken according to directions. People just need to be educated about what happens when it isn't.

[sgxnk]

11. how true - suicide men v. women

this is the DUMBEST way to attempt suicide because the chances of causing longterm chronic damage is very very very high, and the risk of actually dying right away are pretty low

this is hepatatoxicity 101

this also reminds me of a key fact in suicidal and para-suicidal behavior

women (and girls especially) ATTEMPT (for loose definition of attempt) suicide many times more often than women (boys)

several times

this is shown in studies, as well as my personal experience. i have been to scores of "attempt suicides" as both a firefighter and a cop. and females outnumber men by a wide margin

when it comes to ACTUAL (not attempt) suicide though, men FAR outnumber women

women very rarely use methods like gunshots, jumping off buildings, and well organized hangings. all of which are very effective

they tend to do the "pills" route, especially stuff like tylenol or sleeping pills, etc.

i tried to explain to one 16 yr what incredible damage she was doing to her liver (she had taken a bottle of tylenol with some wine on 3 different occasions) but ... well... youth

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. My husband got Hep. C

and was told NEVER to take Tylenol. He does take a variety of herbs to strengthen and detoxify his liver. Massive doses of vitamin C and alpha limpoic acid taken in an IV have brought his liver functions all back to normal.

[philb]

7. I hear that Russian Choice also is effective at improving viral conditions

like Hep C, herpes, etc. as well as Lyme Disease, which is much more common according to clinics in this area than most are aware of. A clinic here has had very good experience using Russian Choice for these conditions, according to someone I know there involved with the testing.

[laruemtt]

10. had not heard of Russian Choice before -

just googled it - but i pretty much try to drown myself in a probiotic. i've had chronic lyme for, what, 11 years now (how time flies......) and have been taking Biaxin for most of that time. i'm trusting the probiotic (L.acidophilus, L.rhamnosus, S. thermophilus, L. bulgaricus, bifidus) to save me from the ill effects of the antibiotic. so far in all this time, no yeast infections.

[trotsky]

4. Here are two more.

Kava Linked to Liver Damage
http://www.medic8.com/complementary/kava.htm

Large doses of Niacin
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002409.htm

Yep, manufactured drugs can hurt you when taken incorrectly. But so can quite "natural" things too.

[BuddhaGirl]

5. kava is safe when taken in doses recommended

on the bottle...I have taken kava for years, and have friends that have done the same. I bet these were isolated cases of peopele taking waaay more than they should have! Just like the stupid ephedra scare.

[trotsky]

6. Much like Tylenol that way.

Taken in doses recommended, it's an effective pain and fever reliever.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. Isn't milk thistle also excellent for protecting and restoring liver

function?

[sgxnk]

12. yes

Milk Thistle and NAC (n-acetyl cysteine iirc) are a potent combo as well