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August 2, 2013
On August 1, 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in TYLENOL and many other over-the-counter pain relievers and fever reducers, can cause rare but serious skin reactions. These reactions can be fatal.
Symptoms of these life-threatening skin reactions due to use of acetaminophen include reddening of the skin, painful rash, and blisters. In extreme cases, the condition can cause the top layer of a person’s skin...
August 2, 2013
On August 1, 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in TYLENOL and many other over-the-counter pain relievers and fever reducers, can cause rare but serious skin reactions. These reactions can be fatal.
Symptoms of these life-threatening skin reactions due to use of acetaminophen include reddening of the skin, painful rash, and blisters. In extreme cases, the condition can cause the top layer of a person’s skin to die and shed. These skin symptoms often are preceded by flu-like symptoms. The reactions can occur with first-time use of acetaminophen or at any time while it is being taken.
Read the complete safety alert: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm363041.htm
WorstPills.org does not advise consumers taking acetaminophen to switch to another pain reliever unless they experience an adverse reaction. This is because other drugs used to treat fever and pain/body aches (e.g., non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS, such as ibuprofen [ADVIL, MEDIPREN, MOTRIN, NUPRIN] and naproxen [ALEVE, ANAPROX, NAPROSYN]) also carry the risk of causing serious skin reactions, as described in the warnings section of their drug labels.
If you use acetaminophen or any other pain reliever or fever reducer and develop a skin rash or reaction, you should stop the drug immediately and seek medical attention right away. Do not start taking acetaminophen if you have experienced a serious skin reaction with the drug in the past, and contact your health care professional to discuss alternative medications.
The FDA learned of this risk from adverse event reports submitted to the agency and articles from medical journals. The agency has not been able to determine how frequently serious skin reactions occur with acetaminophen, but it estimates that these events are very rare. The FDA will require manufacturers of prescription products containing acetaminophen to add a warning to the labels advising health care providers and consumers about the risk of serious skin reactions from using the drugs. The agency also will request that manufacturers of over-the-counter products containing acetaminophen do the same.
