Acetaminophen Research Paper

The Danger and Long-Term Effects of Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen
Stefanie Dean
COM/155
December 17, 2011
Misha Rogers - Imagine that you are at work and suddenly your head begins throbbing and you just can’t concentrate or focus on your tasks any longer. You take a quick ride to the corner store and grab a bottle of Tylenol™, toss a handful back with some bottled water and return to work. 30 minutes later you are keeled over with stomach pains and feelings of nausea, chills and fever all at the same time. This miserable experience is the onset of acetaminophen overdose. Commonly used over-the-counter pain medications such as Tylenol™, Motrin™ or Advil™ carry potential dangers, risks and long-term side effects of which many people
Unfortunately, they are usually only known by their brand name and not the active ingredient itself. Common brand names for ibuprofen are Motrin™, Advil™, Midol™ and Nuprin™. Acetaminophen is one of the most commonly used drugs in the United States for treating pain and fever.(JAMA, 2002) Acetaminophen is more commonly known only as Tylenol™, however, keep in mind that acetaminophen is very often contained in cold remedies as part of the manufacturer’s formula for the relief of multiple symptoms. Besides Tylenol™ having their own multi-symptom cold remedies, it is often found in others such as NyQuil™, DayQuil™, or Theraflu™. For reasons like this, it is very important that you read the label of active ingredients before taking any medication. For example, if you are taking acetaminophen for pain and take a cold medication containing acetaminophen as well, this can very likely cause an overdose which can be very dangerous with possible long-term
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