For the health of your liver, you might want to think twice before taking an extra pain killer like acetaminophen. Although it’s the nation’s most popular pain reliever, accidental acetaminophen poisonings are now on the rise, making acetaminophen poisoning the leading cause of liver failure.

Researchers, over the past six years, studied 662 people with acute liver failure, the most severe type. According to this research, published in December 2005, almost half of acute liver damage was related to acetaminophen. What researchers found even more remarkable was the steady increase in acetaminophen-related liver damage. In 1998, acetaminophen caused 28 percent of liver poisoning. That number jumped to 51 percent in 2003. These researchers confirm that acetaminophen is the most common cause of acute liver failure. While most patients survive, 74 died and 23 needed and received a second liver transplant.

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About 100 million people use acetaminophen every year to relieve everything from a fever to arthritis pain. Although liver damage occurs in a fraction of its users, liver specialists are becoming increasingly frustrated due to the damage that can kill or cause someone to require a liver transplant, which they say should be avoidable to begin with.

Acetaminophen packaging recommends that adults take no more than 4,000 milligrams a day. Those who use alcohol or have hepatitis should take no more than 2,000-3,000mg per day.

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It seems the main problem is when people take more than the maximum recommended amount. Some people, in an effort to control high levels of pain, knowingly take more than the recommended amount. Often, people believe if two pills make them feel better, a few more will make them feel great. Others may unwittingly take too much by combining prescription and over-the-counter drugs that also contain acetaminophen. Over-the-counter products such as Theraflu and Excedrin contain acetaminophen, as do the prescription products Vicodin and Percocet. A surprising 63 percent of unintentional overdoses have involved narcotics such as Vicodin and Percocet that can contain 325mg to 750mg of acetaminophen in each pill. Some who overdosed were chronic pain sufferers who increased their medicine as their bodies developed a tolerance to the painkillers. 

Warnings about accidental acetaminophen overdose circulated over two years ago due to the 56,000 emergency room visits per year from overdoses. Every year as many as 16,500 arthritic people accidentally die due to NSAIDS. Amazingly, this is more people who overdose on heroin. So please ask your doctor for a more effective pain reliever instead of increasing what isn't working.

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