Beware of pain relief medicines with acetaminophen in them. I just read an article that the Food and Drub Administration is warning consumers about the dangers of acetaminophen. It seems that taking too much can cause liver damage. Acetaminophen is an ingredient used in about 600 products. They say it is considered safe and effective and is used by millions of consumers.

I disagree that it is safe, especially for me. I discovered my sensitivity to acetaminophen, when I was prescribed pain relief medicine back in 2000. How do I know it is not safe for me to take? Every time I take something with acetaminophen in it, I get ugly red and purple liver spots on my arms and hands. They look like broken blood vessels under my skin and they take a long time to heal.

Remember Vioxx? It had acetaminophen in it. When I took it once, I woke up the next morning with a huge shiner. The area around my eye was bleeding underneath my skin. I called my doctor right away and he said to quit taking it. Fortunately for me, I had no other bad side effects that I know of, but I hear many others were not so lucky. Vioxx was removed from the market shortly thereafter because people who were taking it were dying and some were going to court over it. There were accusations that the FDA had not properly vetted the product and that dangerous side effects were hidden.

Since then, I have looked very closely at what I take for pain, making sure there is no acetaminophen in it. Even still, because there are so many products with that ingredient, I sometimes accidentally used some. When I saw the ugly red patches appearing on my arms, I looked up the ingredients and found that the product had acetaminophen in it.

I have added acetaminophen to my list of medicines I am allergic to. Some doctors believe me and some do not. I watch them write down my allergies, but some leave off acetaminophen. When that happens, I insist they list it. I think they prescribe it a lot.

Since discovering my sensitivity to acetaminophen, I have noticed a lot of people with those big red patches and liver spots on their arms. I want to tell them they are probably taking acetaminophen and may be damaging their livers, but I am not a doctor.

I am, however, a consumer. And I can tell you to be careful of acetaminophen. If you see those ugly red patches on your arms, consider that it may be caused by the medicine you are taking. If your need for pain relief is great and you want a healthy liver, you might consider trying something else without acetaminophen.

Doctors cannot possibly know all your symptoms and what you are taking. And much of what is available that has acetaminophen in it can be purchased over the counter without a prescription. So you need to monitor your own drug regimen more closely. Learn to read the fine print on your medicines and read the prescription papers that the druggist gives you. Ask your pharmacists for assistance and recommendations. They may know even more about the drugs than your doctor does.

As for me, I use plain old reliable (and cheap) aspirin, with a big glass of water. When I take aspirin, to prevent it from irritating my stomach, I chew it first so it will dissolve as quickly as possible. If you can't chew it, then buy the coated ones that cost only a little bit more. You can also take aspirin with milk or with a snack.

Is aspirin as effective? If you can take it, it will probably be more effective than all the other expensive drugs on the market that cost a hundred times more.

Learn more about this author, Linda Schreiber.
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