1. Tylenol ‘emotional’ pain relief carries big risks

    Don't fall for this 'happy pill' sales pitch

    Tylenol is already one of the most overused meds on the planet.

    It's so ridiculously out of control right now that accidental overdose of this drug is the nation's No. 1 cause of acute liver failure.

    We need LESS of this stuff -- but we're about to get the opposite, as the Big Pharma-friendly media are talking up Tylenol like they're making a commission.

    A major new report claims that this drug can do so much more than ease sore muscles and aching joints.

    It claims that it can also ease emotional pain!

    Feeling a little lonely around the holidays? Pop some Tylenol!

    Lose a friend or loved one? Break out the Tylenol!

    Bad day at work? Here's your Tylenol!

    Sad movie on the Hallmark Channel? You guessed it... time for Tylenol!

    The new report isn't even a new study. It's just a repackaged collection of old studies that show the drug can help with the pain of loss and rejection.

    But let's not kid ourselves here.

    The drug isn't "easing" that pain so much as numbing and even deadening your body's natural emotional response. Brain scans on patients in these studies show that the lights are off in the areas involved in handling emotional and social pain.

    Anyone else besides me think that's a bad idea?

    You NEED that part of the brain. You NEED that response, which is a natural reaction we're designed to feel during sad times.

    It's part of the human experience!

    The experiments even show the dangers of messing with this part of the brain. Taking Tylenol might help ease depression and pain... but it can also dampen your empathy.

    That's not just an emotion that's nice to have. Empathy is essential, and it plays a role in how we respond to the people around us every day.

    That's not the only risk here, either.

    Just as Tylenol can deaden emotional low points, the same studies show it can dampen the highs.

    You might not be as sad as you would have been, but you also won't be as happy when the cloud passes over.

    These are just the emotional risks, mind you.

    Tylenol also comes with much more serious physical risks.

    There's the liver damage I mentioned earlier, and the drug can also sock you right in the kidneys. Some studies have found that using it too often can even increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

    If you're struggling with some of life's more emotional moments, don't turn to drugs, whether it's Tylenol or a prescription mood med.

    Try natural therapies instead, and don't forget the most natural one of all: prayer.

  2. Acetaminophen boosts ADHD risk

    Acetaminophen boosts ADHD risk

    When you're pregnant, you're not just eating for two. Everything you do is for two -- and that includes taking meds.

    But believe it or not, many of today's most commonly used drugs have never been fully tested for safety in pregnant women and their children, and that's as true for over-the-counter meds as it is for prescription drugs.

    And now, new research finds that one of the most commonly used over-the-counter meds of all could damage the brain of your baby.

    It's the painkiller acetaminophen, aka Tylenol (but it's also found in everything from cold meds to sleep aids) and the new study finds it can cross the placental barrier and harm the development of baby's brain in a way that could lead to ADHD later on.

    And by age 11, kids born to moms who took the drug while pregnant are 30 percent more likely to have ADHD and 37 percent more likely to have the most severe form of the condition than kids born to moms who didn't.

    The more mom-to-be takes the drug, the higher the risk -- and women who take it for 20 weeks or more during pregnancy have kids 50 percent more likely to suffer from ADHD later, according to the study of nearly 65,000 women.

    What's truly frightening here is that this drug is one of the most commonly used meds among pregnant women -- and it's long been assumed by the mainstream that it's safe.

    Clearly, acetaminophen is anything but.

    While I believe it's important for everyone to try nondrug options for pain first, it's especially critical for pregnant women.

    If you're expecting, start with treatments such as acupuncture as well as homeopathic remedies. Massage and heat treatments will also do the trick in many cases, but speak to your doctor before you try anything else, including herbal remedies, to make sure what you choose is safe for your baby.

    I realize that some of you reading this are planning for grandchildren or even great grandchildren rather than kids of your own, so please share this information with any woman in your life who's of childbearing age.

  3. Acetaminophen warning falls short

    New restrictions on acetaminophen (aka Tylenol) aren't restrictions at all -- because they won't apply to over-the-counter drugs.
  4. Acetaminophen and alcohol can damage kidneys

    The painkiller acetaminophen when taken with booze can damage the kidneys and double your risk of kidney disease, according to the latest research.
  5. Acetaminophen can lead to deadly skin conditions

  6. Another bad use for painkillers

    Hearts have been broken for about as long as there have been hearts to break -- but it's only in recent years that people began to rely on drugs to get over the emotional toll of rejection. And if a new study is any indication, self-medication for this "condition" is about to get dangerously easy.
  7. Another recall for children's Tylenol

    Talk about déjà vu all over again: Infant Tylenol is being recalled just months after being put back onto the market after the last recall.
  8. New instructions for Tylenol

    J&J says the changes it will make -- next year, mind you, not today -- will help stop the overuse that's turned the drug's main ingredient, acetaminophen, into the leading cause of liver failure in the United States. But they're not changing the drug.
  9. Common painkiller ups cancer risk

    It's the everyday pill that's in everyone's medicine chest -- and millions of people pop 'em twice a day or more in a misguided and dangerous attempt to beat life's aches and pains.

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