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Sep. 25th, 2013 07:34 pmI am not normally one for alarmism, but everyone should take a listen to this week's This American Life:
Use Only As Directed
WARNING: for danger to babies
It is about accidental acetaminophen overdoses. Fascinating not just for how small the line is between therapeutic and lethal dosage, but also in the byzantine way the FDA has tried to deal with all the drug ingredients that already existed when the FDA came into being. Short version: a lot of OTC drugs have never gone through FDA approval. And people take the fact that they are OTC as license to ignore the warnings and take more than the recommended dose when they really, really shouldn't.
I was raised by a doctor and a nurse, so I remember my mom warning me about the danger of taking Tylenol and drinking when I was little (telling her kid about a woman who went brain dead is how my mom rolls). So I've always been careful with dosages, and checked with my parents' pharmacology knowledge on occasion. But I know a lot of people aren't. So. Listen, and be ye warned.
Use Only As Directed
WARNING: for danger to babies
It is about accidental acetaminophen overdoses. Fascinating not just for how small the line is between therapeutic and lethal dosage, but also in the byzantine way the FDA has tried to deal with all the drug ingredients that already existed when the FDA came into being. Short version: a lot of OTC drugs have never gone through FDA approval. And people take the fact that they are OTC as license to ignore the warnings and take more than the recommended dose when they really, really shouldn't.
I was raised by a doctor and a nurse, so I remember my mom warning me about the danger of taking Tylenol and drinking when I was little (telling her kid about a woman who went brain dead is how my mom rolls). So I've always been careful with dosages, and checked with my parents' pharmacology knowledge on occasion. But I know a lot of people aren't. So. Listen, and be ye warned.