What do a lot
of people do when they feel achy and are running a fever? They go straight to
the medicine cabinet for an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine.
With so many
kids and parents sick with the flu, these drugs can be helpful. But it is also
easy to overdose on one particular OTC drug, acetaminophen. Acetaminophen is
often used in pain medications such as Tylenol, but is also the active
ingredient in many other types of OTC drugs such as Benadryl, Formula44,
Nyquil, Robitussin and Theraflu and many more.
As a matter of fact, acetaminophen is the most common drug active
ingredient in America. It can be found
in over 600 OTC and prescription medicines.
For this reason, it’s important to always check the active ingredients
in all of your medicines to see if they contain acetaminophen. With OTC medicines, the word “acetaminophen”
is listed on the front of the bottle and in the active ingredient section of
the Drug Facts label. On prescription
labels, acetaminophen is sometimes listed as APAP, acetam, or other shortened
versions of the word. You can take too much acetaminophen if you use more than
one medicine that contains acetaminophen at the same time.
Too much
acetaminophen overloads the liver's ability to process the drug safely. An
acetaminophen overdose can lead to life-threatening liver problems. How much
acetaminophen is too much varies depending on the child's age and weight.
Left untreated, a serious acetaminophen overdose can be fatal within a
few days.
The recommended
amount of acetaminophen for 12 years and older is 650 mg to 1000 mg every 4 to
6 hours as needed, not to exceed 4000mg in 24 hours. The dosage for children
under 12 years of age is 10 to 15mg/kg every 4 to 6 hours, not to exceed five
doses (50-75 mg/kg in 24 hours. Remember, your child’s weight is important in
determining what dose your child should be given. Talk to your pediatrician, family
doctor or to one of our certified specialists at the Texas Poison Center
Network about the correct dose for your child.
Overdose
prevention requires parents to be diligent in keeping track of the amount of
the acetaminophen that is given to their child. If you do give your child acetaminophen,
keep in mind that it might take up to an hour to lower his or her fever.
The Texas
Poison Center Network also recommends:
- Follow the
directions and weight-based dose recommendations printed on medication
labels.
- Use the
measuring device that comes with your child's medication. Don't use
household teaspoons which can vary in size to measure liquid
acetaminophen.
- Don't give
your child acetaminophen when he or she is taking other medications
containing acetaminophen.
- Don't give
your child adult formulations of acetaminophen.
·
Securely replace child-resistant caps after using any
medication and store all medications out of your child's reach.
·
Always
know how much of a liquid medicine is in the bottle in case a toddler does get
into the medicine. You can do this by using a marker to show the level after
each time you give the medicine.
Careful use of
acetaminophen and prompt treatment in case of an overdose can help prevent a
tragedy.
The flu is
terribly uncomfortable and depending on how serious a case you or your child
has, the temptation to take more OTC pain relief drugs than recommended is
high. Don’t exceed the recommended dosage or you may end up dealing with a
crisis that is much worse than a bad case of the flu. If you or your child’s fever continues to
rise after medication, or breathing difficulty develops, immediately call 911.
Those are signs that the flu has progressed too far for you to handle.
Remember, the Texas Poison Control Network is here to
help you. So if you find yourself in any possible poisoning situation or you
just aren’t sure if you can give a particular medication to your child, please
do not hesitate to call 1-800-222-1222
for some free expert advice, 24 hours a
day!
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