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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raised the alarm earlier this year about the meteoric rise of reported autism cases in the United States, underscoring at a press conference, "We are doing this to our children, and we need to put an end to it." "The [autism spectrum disorder] prevalence rate in 8-year-olds is now 1 in 31," said Kennedy, referring to a study that examined children born in 2014. The health secretary noted further that American boys face an "extreme risk" of ending up with autism, stating that they have a 1 in 20 chance of...

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen may increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in children. The study, published today in BMC Environmental Health, is the first to apply the rigorous Navigation Guide methodology to systematically evaluate the rigor and quality of the scientific literature.Acetaminophen (often sold under the brand name Tylenol®,) is the most commonly used over-the-counter pain and fever medication during pregnancy and is used by more than half of pregnant women worldwide. Until now, acetaminophen has been considered the...

Using a water-based solution with this amino acid draws mercury out of fish and requires no additional production steps.An estimated 10% of Americans eat canned tuna at least once a week, according to a 2022 Consumer Reports survey. Consumer Reports also found that certain types of canned tuna can have unhealthy levels of mercury, which is particularly harmful for pregnant women. However, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden say they've developed a new method of packaging that helps reduce mercury levels in each can. “Our study shows that there are alternative approaches to addressing mercury contamination in tuna,...

In a recent op-ed on Fox News, one woman described her harrowing abortion pill experience, warning against the widespread push for easy chemical abortion access and describing her belief that the FDA has “betrayed” women in unraveling abortion pill safeguards. Author Elizabeth Gillette says she went to Planned Parenthood and was given the abortion pill, even though the doctor never looked at her medical history or told her about potential complications or risk factors (of which there are many). A “no test” protocol in dispensing the abortion pill has become common. “Nothing was said about any side effects,” Gillette writes....

Facing pressure to have an abortion — her second abortion, Courtney went to the abortion facility and was given the abortion pill. She later said it was harder on her than her surgical abortion had been because this time, she felt like the actual killer. Believing that telling the abortion workers that she had changed her mind would make them “mad,” Courtney went through with an abortion she didn’t want. She was told it would be easy. It was anything but easy. “They told me it was just a pill as safe and as easy as taking a Tylenol. They...

How do you respond to those who say that taking mifepristone is “safer than taking Tylenol?” Considered in terms of deaths per dose, it simply isn’t so. What you have here is a not-so-clever statistical sleight of hand. Advocates try to get you to compare the number of deaths from a relatively lightly used product with one that is used billions of times by people every year. We are told that about 150 American die from Tylenol use every year, usually by overdose or simply taking too much over an extended period of time. At the same time, the FDA...

Ibuprofen works wonders for your headaches, joint pain, muscle aches, and menstrual cramps, so it's probably no surprise that it's the second most common over-the-counter (OTC) drug behind paracetamol (Tylenol), according to a 2023 article https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36876700/ in the European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences. You might get a prescription for ibuprofen if you have rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis to reduce the pain and swelling from these conditions. Ibuprofen might also be used for psoriatic arthritis, arthritis of the spine, and gouty arthritis. Like other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), ibuprofen works by blocking an enzyme that makes prostaglandins that cause...

A Food and Drug Administration panel today unanimously ruled that a medicine used by millions for a stuffy nose does not work. Phenylephrine is the most common active compound in over-the-counter drugs like Benadryl Allergy Plus Congestion, Sudafed PE, and Tylenol Cold and Flu Severe Day & Night. But an FDA panel said after a two-day review that the oral decongestant ‘is not effective’ at standard or even high doses. Their ruling is not binding but it strongly suggests that the agency could soon heed their advice and pull its approval, which would force companies to pull or reformulate their...

The sole suspect in the 1982 Tylenol murders was found dead Sunday, according to the Chicago Tribune. Tribune investigative reporters Christy Gutowski and Stacy St. Clair, who conducted a long investigation into the mystery, reported that sources told them prime suspect James Lewis died at his suburban Boston home at the age of 76. In Sept. 1982, fear gripped the Chicago area and the country after seven suburban residents died due to taking Tylenol that was laced with lethal doses of potassium cyanide. Copycat killings followed later in the U.S. Lewis was a tax consultant who sent a letter to...

A decade ago, most people thought of Tylenol (acetaminophen) as a medicine for fever, malaise and minor aches and pains. Nobody imagined that it would become the go-to drug for treating moderate, let alone severe, postoperative pain. But this is just what has happened. Thanks to pressure from lawmakers, government agencies and policymakers who inserted themselves into the patient-doctor relationship, patients became the victims of the never-ending war on drugs. Now, doctors frequently offer only acetaminophen to treat painful conditions despite the drug’s inability to remedy them. Policymakers’ exaggerated fear of opioids has pressured hospitals, doctors and dentists to switch...

There’s a nationwide shortage of Tylenol and other common pain medications. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of Fentanyl coming in through America’s porous southern border for anyone who wants to get high — or dead. CBS News reported Thursday on our “national shortage” of children’s Tylenol and other medicines have “retailers like CVS, Target and Walgreens” placing strict limits on how much medicine people can buy. Even though companies like Johnson & Johnson are producing new meds “around the clock,” shortages could nevertheless last “into early next year.” One reason for the shortages is a spike in demand caused by the annual...

[H/T combat_boots]Image of boxes of prescription medicine Tamiflu at link Tamiflu fills are at a 10-time high for this time of year, according to GoodRx.com. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images America is facing a shortage of four key medications used for common illnesses in children as virus season comes back in full force.Officials have declared a shortage of first-line antibiotics amoxicillin and Augmentin, which are used to treat bacterial infections. Tamiflu, the most common flu medication in the US, and albuterol, an inhaler for asthma and to open airways in the lungs, are also in short supply, according to the American Society...

[H/T combat_boots]Hospitals are filling up all across America, and there are extremely alarming shortages of some of our most important medications. Health authorities are warning that RSV, the flu and COVID are combining to create a “tripledemic”, and there are simply not enough medications to go around. Personally, I am most concerned about RSV. It is spreading like wildfire from coast to coast, and we are being told that very young children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. I wrote an entire article about the RSV outbreak earlier this month, and since that time things have gotten even worse. Our...

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Major developments surfaced Thursday into the 40-year-old investigation into the Tylenol murders in the greater Chicago area. CBS 2 Chicago learned that investigators travelled to the Boston area this week to re-interview the man considered a suspect in the seven deaths. James Lewis was never charged with the murders, but he was convicted of trying to extort $1 million from Johnson & Johnson in the days after the cyanide-laced pills showed up on store shelves. The CBS 2 Investigators began re-examining the case back in April; reporter Brad Edwards travelled to Massachusetts last month to try to...

Long-term paracetamol use could increase the risk of heart disease and strokes in people with high blood pressure, a study suggests. Patients who have a long-term prescription for the painkiller, usually used for the treatment of chronic pain, should opt for the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time, researchers say. Paracetamol was often suggested as a safer alternative to another class of painkillers called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are known to increase blood pressure and risk of heart disease. In the latest study, 110 patients with a history of high blood pressure were prescribed one gram of...

Science says Aspirin is good, bad and undeterminedAspirin Use Is Associated With Decreased Mechanical Ventilation, Intensive Care Unit Admission, and In-Hospital Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With Coronavirus Disease 20199/25/2021, 12:57:34 PM · by ransomnote · 65 replies journals.lww.com ^ | Oct 21, 2020 | Jonathan H. Chow, Ashish K. Khanna, Shravan Kethireddy, et alAspirin Misuse May Have Made 1918 Flu Pandemic Worse10/2/2009, 1:44:59 PM · by decimon · 30 replies · 1,715+ views HIV Medicine Association ^ | October 2, 2009 | UnknownThe devastation of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic is well known, but a new article suggests a surprising factor...

President Donald Trump has several strikes against him — age, obesity, elevated cholesterol and being male — that could put him at greater risk of becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus infection he disclosed late Thursday. Trump and first lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive, “are both well at this time” and plan to remain at the White House while recovering and being closely monitored, according to a statement from his physician, Dr. Sean Conley. A White House official said Friday that Trump was having mild symptoms.

World Health Organization recommends using paracetamol to treat coronavirus symptoms, instead of anti-inflammatories. Here's why. The World Health Organization has recommended that people suffering from the symptoms of the virus avoid taking ibuprofen drugs such as Advil. Instead, the organization suggests taking paracetamol, such as Acamol (Tylenol). They studied why the disease pathway in Italy is more serious, finding that most patients took ibuprofen at home. Researchers joined the virus and ibuprofen in the laboratory and came to the conclusion that administering ibuprofen accelerates multiplication of the virus and is related to a more serious course of the disease. They...

Scientists and senior doctors have backed claims by France’s health minister that people showing symptoms of covid-19 should use paracetamol (acetaminophen) rather than ibuprofen, a drug they said might exacerbate the condition. The minister, Oliver Veran, tweeted on Saturday 14 March that people with suspected covid-19 should avoid anti-inflammatory drugs. “Taking anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, cortisone . . .) could be an aggravating factor for the infection. If you have a fever, take paracetamol,” he said. His comments seem to have stemmed in part from remarks attributed to an infectious diseases doctor in south west France. She was reported to have...

CDC researchers found less addictive over-the-counter drugs, like Advil and Tylenol, are three times more effective than some of their opioid counterparts. No more opiates for chronic pain I guess.