If you’re like the average American, when you have a headache or other pain, you reach for a painkiller. And if you’re like the average American, you don’t have a clue what the active ingredient is.
A study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine earlier this month revealed that many people don’t know what the active ingredients in the best-known over-the-counter painkillers are. That’s despite the fact that at least one of the ingredients has considerable risks: Aceteminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, can cause acute liver failure in high doses. Fewer than half the study participants even knew acetaminophen was Tylenol’s active ingredient, and in related focus groups, few participants knew acetaminophen’s risks.
Part of the problem, the study researchers concluded, is the medications’ labeling: “A large number of adults,” they wrote, “will greatly benefit from the use of simple, explicit messages and icons as a more efficient manner of identifying acetaminophen medications and their maximum dose.”
Have you been harmed by Tylenol or another painkiller? Contact Hodes Milman for a free case evaluation. We’re aggressive personal injury and medical malpractice lawyers based in Orange County, serving all of California. We have the experience to take on the medical industry and have achieved multi-million dollar verdicts for our clients.