posted on Aug, 3 2013 @ 08:54 PM
Acetaminophen is one of the most widely used medicines for fever and pain, commonly found in drugs like in Tylenol. On Thursday, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) announced that acetaminophen is causing rare, but dangerous skin reactions in some people.
CNN) -- The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers on Thursday that popular pain reliever acetaminophen may cause serious skin reactions
in some people. The FDA will now require a warning about the skin conditions to be added to the labels of prescription drug containing acetaminophen
and will ask manufacturers of acetaminophen products to add warnings to their over-the-counter medications.
www.cnn.com...
The popular pain-killing medication is linked to three skin diseases with symptoms that range from rash and blisters to more extensive damage to
tissues under the skin. The two most serious skin conditions are Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), which will
typically require hospitalization and can be fatal. The less dangerous skin disease is acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP), which
usually resolves itself within two weeks once acetaminophen is stopped.
The reactions can appear at any time people take the product, even if they only take it once. Other drugs designed to treat fever and pain, such as
ibuprofen and naproxen, also carry the risk of these skin reactions, but they already carry a warning on their labels.
The FDA stresses that anyone who develops these types of conditions after using acetaminophen should stop taking the product immediately and visit a
doctor or emergency room. If people have already experienced these skin problems while occasionally taking acetaminophen, they should not take the
drug again and should inform their doctor about the reaction, the FDA said.
Many of the reactions start with flu-like symptoms of fever and muscle aches, which are followed by rash, blistering and sloughing off of the
outside of the skin, which can expose patients to potentially fatal infections. It’s possible for victims to experience scarring, skin pigment
changes, blindness and organ damage. The recovery can take weeks or months.
edit on 3-8-2013 by snarky412 because: (no reason given)