Acetaminophen liver toxicity

At 8 months old, Monkey Boy finally erupted a tooth last Thursday
morning. Because he was very fussy and uncomfortable trying to eat
anything, I dosed him with acetaminophen (Tylenol infant liquid, red
flavor) several times on Thursday and again on Friday.

Thursday night he vomited soon after getting a dose on a full stomach,
and again on Friday night. Vomiting is very unusual for him, and I
understand the red flavor can cause this, and to try the purple flavor
instead. After the Friday vomit we gave him no more acetaminophen and
he did not vomit again.

But my main concern is something else connected to the acetaminophen,
that I have not been able to track down in my medical references.
Thursday night and Friday, Monkey Boy's poops were unique. The color
and consistency were normal but the odor was distinctly like well-aged
raw beef. Such an odor makes me worry about liver damage!

Acetaminophen in high doses is notorious for causing liver damage.
Also, it can cause damage in normal doses; although this is rare,
acetaminophen is extremely toxic in some people. Can anyone direct me
to more relevant information on this, in particular whether that raw
beef odor is consistent with liver damage.

Pologirl

I would say call his doctor.

KAy

"pologirl" wrote in message
om...
At 8 months old, Monkey Boy finally erupted a tooth last Thursday
morning. Because he was very fussy and uncomfortable trying to eat
anything, I dosed him with acetaminophen (Tylenol infant liquid, red
flavor) several times on Thursday and again on Friday.

Thursday night he vomited soon after getting a dose on a full stomach,
and again on Friday night. Vomiting is very unusual for him, and I
understand the red flavor can cause this, and to try the purple flavor
instead. After the Friday vomit we gave him no more acetaminophen and
he did not vomit again.

But my main concern is something else connected to the acetaminophen,
that I have not been able to track down in my medical references.
Thursday night and Friday, Monkey Boy's poops were unique. The color
and consistency were normal but the odor was distinctly like well-aged
raw beef. Such an odor makes me worry about liver damage!

Acetaminophen in high doses is notorious for causing liver damage.
Also, it can cause damage in normal doses; although this is rare,
acetaminophen is extremely toxic in some people. Can anyone direct me
to more relevant information on this, in particular whether that raw
beef odor is consistent with liver damage.

Pologirl

I would say that his teething and maybe extra mucous that he is swallowing
is causing the bad odor and not the Tylenol. I am fully aware of the liver
toxicity that *can* occur with Tylenol, but you would really have to take a
lot for a long period of time before liver toxicity became a problem. I know
this because my daughter had a liver transplant and cannot use Ibuprofen and
can only take Tylenol. So I have had a long discussion on Tylenol use with
her transplant doctors. They agree that Tylenol is being drug through the
media as another media scare and hype. Sure, it's worth monitoring and using
as little as possible for a very short time, but short time use is not going
to be a problem.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

"pologirl" wrote in message
om...
At 8 months old, Monkey Boy finally erupted a tooth last Thursday
morning. Because he was very fussy and uncomfortable trying to eat
anything, I dosed him with acetaminophen (Tylenol infant liquid, red
flavor) several times on Thursday and again on Friday.

Thursday night he vomited soon after getting a dose on a full stomach,
and again on Friday night. Vomiting is very unusual for him, and I
understand the red flavor can cause this, and to try the purple flavor
instead. After the Friday vomit we gave him no more acetaminophen and
he did not vomit again.

But my main concern is something else connected to the acetaminophen,
that I have not been able to track down in my medical references.
Thursday night and Friday, Monkey Boy's poops were unique. The color
and consistency were normal but the odor was distinctly like well-aged
raw beef. Such an odor makes me worry about liver damage!

Acetaminophen in high doses is notorious for causing liver damage.
Also, it can cause damage in normal doses; although this is rare,
acetaminophen is extremely toxic in some people. Can anyone direct me
to more relevant information on this, in particular whether that raw
beef odor is consistent with liver damage.

Pologirl

On 30 Nov 2004 09:07:54 -0800, (pologirl) wrote:

Vomiting is very unusual for him, and I
understand the red flavor can cause this, and to try the purple flavor
instead.

This is what I was going to suggest. V will vomit up anything red.
Also, Wal-Mart's brand Equate makes a grape version that works great
for us plus it's literally 1/3 the price of Tylenol.

Plus I think all of the extra 'slobber' they produce also makes them
gag and when a gob of slobber is mixed even with the tiniest bit of
milk or medicine it makes it look like they're throwing up alot more
than they actually are.


Carla
Mom to Victor 5.16.04
www.victorpictures.com --see him here

http://www.whale.to/a/fever1.html
http://www.whale.to/drugs/paracetamol1.html
"Could the increase in all forms of meningitis and other infectious disease
complications and deaths be because for the last 40+ years, the first thing
parents do at the slightest sign of temperature is push paracetamol? I
believe so."--Hilary Butler IS FEAR OF FEVER HURTING OUR CHILDREN? By Edda
West - VRAN Newsletter January-March, 2003

"The Ministry of Health's advice regarding the use of paracetamol in
children is unscientific and unsafe," says Ron Law, a risk and policy
analyst. There is no scientific evidence supporting the routine use of
paracetamol to reduce fevers in children, and certainly not in fevers up to
39°C as recommended by the Ministry of Health. It has been known for over a
decade that routine administration of antipyretics such as paracetamol may
interfere with the clinical evaluation of patients with infections, such as
meningitis, that their use may prolong infection and reduce the antibody
response in mild disease [and presumably following vaccination], and
increase morbidity and mortality in severe infection. There is also no
scientific evidence that antipyretics prevent febrile convulsions... it's
all part of medical folklore that the Ministry advice is based on. Advice on
Paracetamol is Unscientific and Unsafe





"pologirl" wrote in message
om...
At 8 months old, Monkey Boy finally erupted a tooth last Thursday
morning. Because he was very fussy and uncomfortable trying to eat
anything, I dosed him with acetaminophen (Tylenol infant liquid, red
flavor) several times on Thursday and again on Friday.

Thursday night he vomited soon after getting a dose on a full stomach,
and again on Friday night. Vomiting is very unusual for him, and I
understand the red flavor can cause this, and to try the purple flavor
instead. After the Friday vomit we gave him no more acetaminophen and
he did not vomit again.

But my main concern is something else connected to the acetaminophen,
that I have not been able to track down in my medical references.
Thursday night and Friday, Monkey Boy's poops were unique. The color
and consistency were normal but the odor was distinctly like well-aged
raw beef. Such an odor makes me worry about liver damage!

Acetaminophen in high doses is notorious for causing liver damage.
Also, it can cause damage in normal doses; although this is rare,
acetaminophen is extremely toxic in some people. Can anyone direct me
to more relevant information on this, in particular whether that raw
beef odor is consistent with liver damage.

Pologirl

Last month, Pologirl wrote:
Thursday night and Friday, Monkey Boy's poops were unique. The color
and consistency were normal but the odor was distinctly like
well-aged
raw beef. Such an odor makes me worry about liver damage!

Acetaminophen in high doses is notorious for causing liver damage.
Also, it can cause damage in normal doses; although this is rare,
acetaminophen is extremely toxic in some people. Can anyone direct
me
to more relevant information on this, in particular whether that raw
beef odor is consistent with liver damage.

Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in Tylenol.

I stopped the acetaminophen and have not given Monkey Boy any more
since
then. I had an interesting discussion about this with his
pediatrician.
Briefly... (1) Given my family history of possible adverse reactions
to
acetaminophen, and this observation, I should ensure Monkey Boy gets no
more acetaminophen. (2) There is a simple drug challenge urine test we
can have done when Monkey Boy is older, to determine if he has a
certain
rare metabolic quirk that permits acetaminophen to cause liver damage.
We can wait until he is old enough to urinate on command; testing now
would involve cathetering him. (3) Given point 1 here, it is important
to do this test because if he has this quirk then he is at risk from
certain other drugs besides acetaminophen.

Pologirl

We can wait until he is old enough to urinate on command; testing now
would involve cathetering him.

Not really. If he's in diapers, you put this funny little baggie over his
penis, then put the diaper on, then when he goes, you take the baggie off.
Wa-la. Sample.

Jenrose

Pologirl wrote:
We can wait until he is old enough to urinate on command; testing
now would involve cathetering him.

Jenrose wrote:
Not really. If he's in diapers, you put this funny little baggie over
his
penis, then put the diaper on, then when he goes, you take the baggie
off.
Wa-la. Sample.

For this test, the sample should be obtained at a specific time after
he gets a dose of the drug. So a sample obtained at his convenience
is unlikely to be sufficient.

"Pologirl" wrote in message
oups.com...
Pologirl wrote:
We can wait until he is old enough to urinate on command; testing
now would involve cathetering him.

Jenrose wrote:
Not really. If he's in diapers, you put this funny little baggie over
his
penis, then put the diaper on, then when he goes, you take the baggie
off.
Wa-la. Sample.

For this test, the sample should be obtained at a specific time after
he gets a dose of the drug. So a sample obtained at his convenience
is unlikely to be sufficient.


Huh. Most babies I know pee pretty freuqently...

Jenrose