Skip to main content

Study finds common household pain reliever may have a down side...

Acetaminophen, aka Tylenol, has been America's favorite pain reliever for decades.  It is one of the safest and most effective products on the market for as long as I can remember.  Many of us are aware that this medicine is generally safe to take.



There have been a few problems with this drug and related products over the years...I remember the early 80s when some Tylenol products on store shelves were found to be tainted with a poison and great strides were made to make the product line tamper proof.  We found out that there is such a thing as "too much" when it comes to acetaminophen.  There were recommendations put in place reduce the risk of liver toxicity.  

To this day, acetaminophen products are a large sector of the over-the counter medication market, and many combination products that are RX only contain acetaminophen as well.  If that doesn't make a statement, I don't know what does.

Fast forward to 2015.  A small study at Ohio State University reveals that this well-known pain reliever may dull a patient's emotional response to positive, upbeat stimulation. In the study,as published in the online journal Psychological Science, approximately 160 college students were involved in one of two experiments leading to this conclusion. In the first study, half of the participants were given a 1000 milligram dose of acetaminophen while the other half were given a placebo.  One hour later, all subjects were shown 40 photographs, each with the intention of provoking negative or positive responses.  The subjects were asked to rate each photograph as such.  Interestingly, the group of subjects in the medication group showed a dulling of both positive and negative emotions during the exercise.

In a follow up study of same design, the two groups were asked how much of the color blue they saw in each image.  (The study author's intent here was to see if the medication affected overall judgement as opposed to only emotion.) The result was that the medication vs. no medication had no effect on the color exercise.

The authors conclude by saying that their study leads them to believe that acetaminophen has a "reliable but subtle" effect on emotion.  They conclude that there may be more effects on the brain than these, but only future study will determine what those might be. It is also possible that other common medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen may have more effects on us than previously believed.

Sources: WebMd; Wikimedia

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Living with Chronic pain hits the big screen!

Been to the movies lately?  Jennifer Aniston is on the big screen in a recent release titled "Cake." Her character, Claire is a victim of chronic pain...she belongs to a support group, where all of the members are coming to terms with the suicide of one of their members.  Of course, she also takes pain medication and addiction is another of her problems...and of course there's more! I guess I am writing this post just to bring readers' attention to the fact that Hollywood has become aware of the crisis that is chronic pain.  This movie is a testament to that. People that don't have to live with this kind of pain don't fully understand the whole story.  Maybe this movie will shed some light on the issues. Here is the official trailer for the movie: Sources: prweb;NorthJersey.com;YouTube
Post a Comment
Read more

Sciatica: A common pain in the butt!

Sciatica pain results from pressure or damage to the sciatic nerve.  This nerve originates in the spine and runs down through the buttocks and the back of the leg...so if you've ever literally had a pain in the butt, it is possible that sciatica is the problem.  The cause of the pressure can be from a number of sources...for instance,  compression in the spinal cord due to disc injury or a tumor. The sciatica pain sensation can vary widely..it can present as a numbness or tingling, dull ache, burning, and in severe cases the pain can make movement quite difficult. Over time, it is possible for sciatica to resolve on its own.  If it does not, it is important to seek medical help to determine the root cause of the pain. The usual first course of remedies for sciatica include ice application to the affected area for the first 48-72 hours, followed by heat.  Over the counter pain medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen are also appropriate.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Non Drug Pain Management Ideas: Applying the 80/20 Principle

The idea for today's post comes from my husband, who has in recent years become a follower of the paleo/primal diet.  Most of the time he is very strict about this diet, making sure not to eat anything taboo.  On occasion, he breaks from the rigidity of his new found way of life and enjoys a few cookies, maybe a bottle of beer, or a new pasta dish. Why, you ask?  He says that according to others who follow this course, there is an 80/20 rule.  This means that that if you adhere to the rules 80% of the time, you can allow yourself some leeway the other 20% of the time.  It is important to bring this concept to the readers of this blog for a number of reasons: 1)If you have been following this blog at all, you know there are a lot of lifestyle changes that can tremendously enhance relief from chronic pain.  For a lot of people this not an easy thing to do.  By opting to follow the 80/20 rule these lifestyle modifications suddenl...
Post a Comment
Read more