In this episode of Drug Talk, we’ll be discussing Acetaminophen. If, after watching, you’re interested in finding out more about Ibuprofen, you can check out Episode 1 for more information.
Everybody welcome back to drug talk i’m your host garrett campbell today on drug talk we’re gonna be talking about the medication known as acetaminophen in the previous two episodes we discussed ibuprofen and pentaprism in this episode i’ll try to make a few distinguishing differences between ibuprofen and acetaminophen so first a quick history lesson on acetaminophen
It first came about in 1886 when two scientists by the last names cahn and hap published a paper talking about a medication with the brand name of anti febrile generic name for this medication was ass he tellin eyes it was first seen in america under the brand name triage easic which contained acetaminophen caffeine and aspirin that brand was pulled off the market
A year later due to some safety concerns but in 1953 stirling and wynn throg co brought it back to the america since back in the 1950s as you’re well aware acetaminophen has become very popular it’s two main uses are to reduce pain and to reduce fever and it’s classified as a non-opioid analgesic medication it’s marketed under many different brand names with the
Most common one coming to mind being tylenol it’s also available as many different dosage forms we usually think of tablet or liquid with acetaminophen but it’s also in many different combination products notably it’s paired up with many narcotic pain medications to provide additional pain when people are experiencing breakthrough pain from their single medication
When tylenol is used over-the-counter that is without a prescription people tend to use it for pain management associated with pains strains headaches sometimes to help with flu symptoms and some people use it for more traumatic injuries i tend to see it used a lot in patients who suffer from arthritis luckily for them there’s different forms of tablets that they
Can receive where they can take it less frequently and the tablet releases the medication slowly throughout the day because acetaminophen is so readily available over the counter it’s important to know that if you’re using this medication yourself and you meet with your health care provider be sure to let them know that you’re using them this way your healthcare
Professional can make better decisions when they’re prescribing to you and if they feel that you’re using it very frequently they may give you something that’s less hard on your body long term now that we’re ready to dive deeper into the medication itself this would be an appropriate time for me to remind you that this channel is for information purposes only
And if you have any questions about your care to consult your personal healthcare provider someone was considering to use acetaminophen for things that they should consider before they actually purchase the medication would be their liver function their kidney function their level of alcohol consumption as well as their age if you have liver or kidney impairment
It’s very important to sit down with your healthcare provider be it your physician and discuss what dosing you can use of acetaminophen they may not want you to use this medication if you consume above average levels of alcohol this could be harder on your liver than just using tylenol alone and in some individuals as they age liver and kidney function begins to
Decline that’s why it’s important to be checked out it’s available in many different strength tablets commonly we see 325 milligram and 500 milligram when people use an extended-release version typically seen in arthritis they use a 650 milligrams tablet the usual dose is anywhere between 325 milligrams to 1000 milligrams taking three to four times a day always
Trying to keep the total daily dose less than four thousand milligrams usually acetaminophen is dosed as needed so unless your pharmacist or physician instructs you otherwise just take it as you need it to give your pain comfort it’s important to note that acetaminophen should not be used for pain over the counter for greater than five days without consulting
Your healthcare provider if you’re using it for fever for greater than three days you should see somebody at that point in time as well if you and your physician decide that it’s appropriate for you to use acetaminophen long term it’s important to keep all of your appointments and checkups your physician may want to do some blood tests to make sure that your
Liver and kidney function stays where it should be to continue using this medication when acetaminophen is taken its absorbed rapidly and almost completely by passive transport in the small intestine it reaches its peak concentration anywhere from 25 minutes to 60 minutes it can be taken without respect to food although fatty foods may delay the time it takes to
Absorb the medication regardless all the medication should still be absorbed if you don’t like swallowing tablets and you don’t have the suspension available you can actually crush the tablet unless it’s an extended release version as mentioned earlier usually seen in osteoarthritis a key difference between acetaminophen and ibuprofen is that acetaminophen has no
Action on inflammation also acetaminophen is easier on your stomach though personally if i was a sufferer from something like a sports injury i would use ibuprofen because usually there would be some inflammation associated with my injury but each individual may have personal circumstances which limits the amount of ibuprofen or acetaminophen they can use so all
Of these these decisions have to be made on an individual basis using the medication regularly about 6% of people notice a little bit of dizziness 9% experience a sensation of drowsiness and about 5% of people experience a headache now moving from your central nervous system to your gastrointestinal tract about two percent of people experience diarrhea while one
Percent experienced stomach upset in three percent of individuals this stomach upset leads to nausea now if you were using one of those combination products that we mentioned earlier as an example maybe percocet which contains oxycodone and acetaminophen or tylenol threes which contain acetaminophen caffeine and codeine the side effects would be more severe well
Touch on the side effects for those specific medications in future episodes for now the main thing to remember is if you’re using a combination product containing acetaminophen be extra careful not to go over the maximum dose of 4000 milligram today some people forget that those medications contain acetaminophen and then end up using it on its own in addition
To the combo product and since there have been hospitalizations due to overdose leading to toxicity of acetaminophen it’s important to always be aware of what you’re putting in your body as with all medication there’s a chance you could be allergic to acetaminophen this would present as difficulty breathing or hives in most cases in which case you would want to
Seek medical attention remember there’s other things you can do besides using medication to treat your pain tano works best when it’s used as an adjunct therapy to rest physical therapy and other methods of pain management cina benefit is metabolized in the liver via three specific pathways conjugation with glucuronic conjugation with sulfate and oxidation via
The mixed cytochrome p450 system of these three glucuronidation takes care of the main percentage of cinnamon ofin at about 47 to 62% sulfation can account for up to 36% that’s all we’re gonna discuss here today on drug talk with acetaminophen as always you can subscribe to the channel to receive notifications of what my videos are posted i try to post one about
Every second day and if it’s your first time stopping by i just really want to say thank you and i appreciate your support and i’ll see you guys next time for episode 4 subscribe below and if you’re interested in finding me anywhere else on social media you can find me on twitter i talk about drugs instagram and gee sauce as well you can find me on facebook at my name garrett campbell
Transcribed from video
ACETAMINOPHEN (TYLENOL) – PHARMACIST REVIEW – #3 By Drug Talk
