The risk of hepatotoxicity is serious, but are the drugs to blame? It's easy to find opinions on the internet that cover the range of extremes. One website that sells herbal vitamins also urges customers to refrain from buying Tylenol or Nyquil because "THEY KILL!" (Broer, 2009). While it's true that these drugs can kill under certain circumstances, they are not dangerous if taken as recommended. Even herbal vitamins can be deadly if taken in excess.
Even if a drug itself is not dangerous, the packaging or directions may lead consumers to take more than the recommended dose. In July, the FDA announced a voluntary recall of concentrated acetaminophen drops because the packaging was similar to less-concentrated drops of the same brand, leading to "inadvertent overdosing" (FDA, 2009). In addition to recalling unsafe products, the FDA also takes a proactive approach to preventing hepatotoxicity. Earlier this year, the organization issued a rule that packaging for OTC pain relievers must conspicuously display warnings and active ingredients such as acetaminophen (FDA, 2009).
Although there are organizations in place to regulate drug safety, consumers should still be responsible when taking any medication. On the other side of the spectrum, there are those with an extremely lax attitude toward OTC drugs, which is an equally dangerous view. In a New York Times article from July, the author down-played the risk of acetaminophen hepatotoxicity by citing "only about 2,000 deaths" compared to the higher number of deaths linked to other pain relievers like aspirin, and a quote from a toxicologist implied that people should worry about ibuprofen, not acetaminophen (Parker-Pope, 2009).
It's best if consumers take a moderate approach to any medication, whether it be prescription, OTC, or herbal. They shouldn't avoid all drugs, but they also shouldn't be too careless.
References
Broer, T, (7-9-2009), http://www.healthmasters.com/blog/do-not-use-tylenol-or-nyquil-they-kill
Parker-Pope, T, (7-6-2009), http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/health/ 07well.html
FDA, (7-13-2009), http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm171780.htm
FDA, (4-28-2009), http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm149573.htm
I think that it is a good thing to promote cautionary measures on labels of OTC medications. I really don't take very many medications but I would sure hate to overdose based on a packaging error.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to learn more about hepatotoxicity, even though it doesn't directly apply to my life.It might affect my grandparents, who take several medications.
Are you guys going to be talking about alcohol as a drug and that it's dangerous for the liver? I'd really be interested in reading that.
I think that it is important to read the labels on OTC drugs because they can possibly interact with other drugs that you are taking. It is always helpful to read material that encourages this.
ReplyDeleteThis is in response to the comment regarding alcohol as a drug. According to Greater Dallas Council on alcohol and drug abuse, alcohol is considered a drug and it is “the most commonly used and widely abused psychoactive drug in the world”. We all know that alcohol has negative effects on the body. There are three kinds of liver diseases that are related to chronic alcohol abuse. They are fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis. Liver disease can be progressive from fatty liver to hepatitis, and eventually cirrhosis. If you stop drinking, you can possibly reverse the effects of fatty and hepatitis but cirrhosis is not reversible because the normal liver tissue has been replaced with scar tissue. With these diseases come serious complications ranging from fluid in the abdomen, bleeding, liver cancer, kidney failure to high blood pressure in the liver. There is also a danger when taking medications and drinking. This can be very harmful to the liver, so be sure to read labels because most medications recommend that you not drink at all or only a limited amount when taking other medications.
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