[ad_1]
Taking part in It Protected: Acetaminophen Protected Use and Males’s Well being Month
Creator: Dr. Julius Johnson
I beloved enjoying soccer as a child, and as an grownup I nonetheless take pleasure in spending weekends teaching my neighborhood’s youth soccer crew, the Brooklyn Skyhawks. I additionally get my fair proportion of train by understanding at house and enjoying with my daughter within the park. Generally I overdo it, and find yourself with aching muscle mass and joints after an formidable exercise.
Like many individuals, one of many first treatments I attain for is a chilly pack and an over-the-counter (OTC) ache reliever. It’s what I inform my sufferers to do – and more often than not, it does the trick. However it’s vital to know what elements are within the OTC and prescription medicines you’re taking, for ache and in any other case, and easy methods to take them safely. The commonest piece of recommendation I give, on and off the sphere, is to not overdo it. OTC medicines can have severe well being penalties if not taken as directed.
Ache Reduction and Males’s Well being
The unhappy fact is that males are in a whole lot of ache. In a nationwide survey, 65% of males reported that they expertise ongoing ache, usually for a 12 months or longer, and lots of of them flip to OTC or prescription medicines for reduction. Throughout Males’s Well being Month, the Acetaminophen Consciousness Coalition is urging males to take cost of their well being and take their medicines safely – particularly if these medicines comprise acetaminophen.
What Is Acetaminophen?
Most individuals don’t know that acetaminophen is the commonest drug ingredient in America, discovered in additional than 600 over-the-counter and prescription medicines – together with many commonly-used ache relievers, cough, chilly, and allergy medicines, sleep aids, and fever reducers. When used as directed, it’s secure and efficient, however taking an excessive amount of is an overdose and may result in liver harm.
The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a most day by day dose of 4,000 milligrams (mg) of acetaminophen in a 24-hour interval.
Suggestions for Utilizing Acetaminophen Safely
Observe these 4 steps to make use of acetaminophen safely:
- All the time learn and comply with the dosing directions in your label. By no means take extra medication than directed by the label – that is an overdose, and it could result in liver harm.
- Know in case your medicines comprise acetaminophen. In case your OTC medication comprises acetaminophen, will probably be highlighted in yellow on the label. It might typically be listed as “APAP” or “acetam” on prescription medicines.
- Take just one medication with acetaminophen at a time. You possibly can take an excessive amount of acetaminophen when you use multiple medication that comprises acetaminophen on the similar time.
- Ask your healthcare supplier or pharmacist when you’ve got questions about easy methods to take your medicines safely.
The Endgame
In my twin roles as a household nurse practitioner and a coach, I attempt to information males to make selections that preserve them wholesome and secure. Males’s Well being Month is the right time to place these secure use steps into observe, and begin calling the performs by yourself well being.
To be taught extra about acetaminophen secure use, go to KnowYourDose.org and comply with @KnowYourDose on Twitter.
Concerning the Creator
Dr. Julius Johnson is a scientific affiliate professor on the New York College Rory Meyers College of Nursing and teaches within the undergraduate, graduate, and physician of nursing packages. He serves on the board of the administrators for the Nationwide Black Nurses Affiliation, is the quick previous president of the Better NYC Black Nurses Affiliation, and makes a speciality of creating wholesome fairness by means of neighborhood interventions and translational science tasks. In his spare time, he coaches deal with soccer for the Brooklyn Skyhawks, spends time together with his Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brothers, and is a loving father.
[ad_2]
