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Health and Wellness at the Crossroads, Feb. 25, 199 H
Tylenol and alcohol can form a
dangerous cocktail for many
Adapted from an ARTICLE bv Sidnky M.
Wolfe
Hakvawo Cnivkhmm Web Sio
A39-year-old man who normally
drank two to four glasses of
wine at dinner ran into trouble
when he began taking Tylenol, the prin
cipal ingredient of which is aceta
minophen. a non-aspirin pain-reliever, in
the recommended dose for the flu
The man developed liver failure and
required an organ transplant to save his
life. He sued the manufacturer and won
a multi-million-dollar judgment, which
was upheld on appeal
Since then, additional lawsuits have
been filed, alleging that the manufactur
er did not adequately warn about the
potential harm when acetaminophen and
alcohol are mixed.
This connection is not new Case
reports have appeared in medical jour
nals since 1977 about liver damage from
A rule of thumb
Here are tips on moderating drinking at a party
Special to the Times-Journal
Fhqm A Website KOK Entertaining in Vanur vkk
Keep tabs on how much your guests
have consumed If someone seems to
have had one too many, there is no shame
in cutting him or her off. The only shame
is in letting someone drink too much at
the expense of his or her safety, the safe
ty of others or a congenial atmosphere If
a guest does get drunk, make sure he or
she does not drive home.
If a guest requests a drink that is light
on the booze, do oblige. You will not do
him or her a favor by loading a drink
tilt- mixture of acetaminophen and alco
hol There are 94 known liver damage
cases
In September 1995, researchers
reported in the liver-specialty journal
Hepatology, 67 more cases of serious
liver damage linked to acetaminophen
taken in usual therapeutic doses for
adults (not overdoses taken in suicide
attempts) and alcohol This brings the
total reported cases to 161, including 32
deaths
Sixty-four percent of the new cases
were considered alcoholic, however, 35
percent drank less than the equivalent
of four glasses of wine, or three mixed
drinks containing hard liquor per day
If you drink alcohol, but less than four
glasses of wihe or three mixed drinks a
day, use acetaminophen in the lowest
possible dose to relieve your symptoms
in no event more than four extra
(See TYLENOL AND BOOZE. Page S)
with alcohol. Never pressure someone
into having just one more
Always serve food along with alcohol.
Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream
directly from the stomach, and good food
provides a balance for drinkers, slowing
the rate at which they drink and absorb
alcohol. Serving food also adds to the air
of hospitality, allowing everyone to have
an even better time. Sandwiches, dairy
products, meats and fish are good bets.
Mixers can affect the rate of absorp
(See PARTY HOST, Page S)
AlcoKol +
pregnancy =
fisky bekavioi*
By Anastasia Nebekezny
and Ai.ma M. Saddam
Ohio State University Extension
sysiiii
Will you drink alcoholic
beverages while you are
pregnant?
When you drink in alco
holic beverage, the alcohol
is quickly absorbed into
your bloodstream The
alcohol circulates in the
blood until it is completely
broken down by the liver
It may take more than an
hour for the liver to break
down the alcohol in one
mixed drink, glass of wine
or can of beer
If you are pregnant, the
alcohol in your blood
stream passes through the
placenta to the baby so
that when you have a
drink, the baby has one
equal in strength Because
of the baby’s size and its
developing system, this
“drink” of alcohol can be
more harmful to the baby
than to you
What kind of harm can
alcohol do to my unborn
baby?
A woman who drinks
alcohol during pregnancy
risks giving birth to an
abnormal child with Fetal
Alcohol Syndrome A child
born with FAS has a pat
tern of mental and physi
cal defects
Growth deficiency is
one of the most common
physical defects of FAS
Most infants with FAS
weigh less and are shorter
than normal infants. The
head size is smaller than
normal too
These youngsters never
catch up to normal growth
and will always be smaller
than other children of the
same age
FAS babies may have
malformed faces. They
have narrow eyes, low
nasal bridges, short
upturned noses and thin
upper lips. Many of these
babies also have heart and
joint abnormalities
Mental retardation is
the most serious mental
defect associated with
FAS. In Seattle, Wash.,
where much of the
research on FAS has taken
place, FAS has been
reported to be the third
most frequently recog
nized disorder involving
retardation
It seems that intellectu
al development is related
to physical malformation
the most severely mal
formed children also have
the greatest intellectual
handicap Many FAS chil
dren are poorly coordinat
ed and have short atten
tion spans and behavioral
problems.
None of these defects
corrects itself as the child
grows older
Is FAS something new?
It has been known for
years that babies of chron
ic alcoholics are born
weak and sickly Even in
Biblical and early Greek
literature, a woman was
warned not to drink wine
or strong drinks after she
conceived her child Since
1973 the pattern of physi
cal and mental defects,
called FAS, has been asso
ciated with the offsprings
of chronic alcoholic moth
ers.
How common is FAS?
It is uncertain to what
extent FAS is found in the
United States. In Seattle, it
is estimated that one child
out of 900 live births has
FAS
Research studies indi
cate that many babies are
at risk because nine out of
ten women drink regularly
(one cocktail every night).
It is estimated that there
are more than one million
alcoholic women of child
bearing age. The number
is growing particularly
among teen-agers.
Babies born to teen
agers who drink heavily
are at double the risk
Since the teen-ager her
self is a growing individ
ual, her body needs nutri
ents for her own growth.
The unborn child also
needs nutrients for devel
opment
In a teen-age pregnancy,
both mother and baby are
at risk the mother puts
additional stress on her
body and the baby has an
increased chance of being
bom too small or too soon
If the fetus is also sub
jected to excessive alcohol
from the mother, the child
may suffer some charac
teristics of FAS.
(See AT RISK, Page 3)