The Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol Controversies

The reaction as a result of excessive intake of acetaminophen is called acetaminophen poisoning. In adults, a dose more than 10-15 gms causes liver failure and more than 25 gms causes deaths. Common symptoms of acetaminophen poisoning includes nausea and vomiting, profuse sweating and oliguria (scanty amounts of urine). As the drug toxicity increases, other symptoms like jaundice, pain in the upper abdomen, abnormality in the brain tissue and kidney failure became apparent.

Apart from liver damage, acetaminophen also causes permanent kidney damage when used for a long period. The damage could be severe for those who already have problems. Studies have also revealed that people using acetaminophen in combination with other painkillers were 3-8 times more prone to kidney cancer, which is very difficult to treat. Excessive dose of acetaminophen also results in high heart rate and blood pressure in some patients.

Analgesics also caused an â?#8218;??#339;analgesic reboundâ?#8218;??#8222;? â?#8218;??#8364;œ headaches caused by the rebound effect of stopping large doses of analgesics. The problem begins when people take an analgesic for a few recurring headaches. They continuously increase the dose and later find that they are addicted to the drug. However, the medicine fails to relieve the pain and headaches recur due to the rebound effect of cessation of the large doses of medications. The only treatment for such headaches is to stop all analgesic medications.