It's safest to take only what you need, and to not exceed 3,000 mg a day whenever possible, especially if you use acetaminophen often. But in some people, doses close to the 4,000 mg daily limit for adults could still be toxic to the liver. If you take too much-all at once or over a period of days-more toxin can build up than the body can handle.įor the average healthy adult, the generally recommended maximum daily dose is no more than 4,000 milligrams (mg) from all sources. But some of the drug is converted into a byproduct that is toxic to the liver. The body breaks down most of the acetaminophen in a normal dose and eliminates it in the urine. Taking too much acetaminophen can damage the liver, sometimes leading to a liver transplant or death. NSAIDs can make you sick, too, but it takes a larger amount to reach a dangerous overdose. The hitch is that acetaminophen also has a narrower window of safety compared with ibuprofen and naproxen. It's an important drug for controlling chronic pain in older adults. That means a person who cannot tolerate NSAIDs can still take acetaminophen. But unlike NSAIDs, acetaminophen does not irritate the stomach and intestinal lining. Acetaminophen safe dosage basicsĪcetaminophen controls pain and fever but does not reduce inflammation, as does aspirin and the other widely consumed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, generics) and naproxen (Aleve, generics). Melisa Lai Becker, instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and a specialist in emergency medicine and toxicology at Harvard-affiliated Cambridge Health Alliance. "People don't realize that these doses all add up, and before you know it you've exceeded the recommended dose of acetaminophen," says Dr. More than 600 products contain acetaminophen, and inadvertently combining them can nudge you into the red zone. Billions of doses of acetaminophen are consumed safely every year, but deaths still occur from accidental overdoses and thousands of people end up in the emergency room. Cold, cough, and flu season is a good time to revisit the risks of acetaminophen-the pain and fever reliever in Tylenol and many other over-the-counter medications.
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