Doctors have urged patients to never combine two common over-the-counter medications, over fears that taking both at once could be harmful to a person’s health.
The news comes just weeks after Donald Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr held a controversial press conference, in which they both claimed that Tylenol had a link to autism, a notion that medical professionals widely reject.
However, doctors are now warning against taking both Tylenol and NyQuil at the same time.
Although they serve different purposes, Tylenol is formulated for pain relief, and NyQuil is designed to relieve nighttime cold and flu symptoms; both contain acetaminophen.
“People are, without realizing it, double-dosing,” Dr Brynna Connor told Parade. “A maximum of 4,000 milligrams for a healthy adult, and frankly, I tell most people to stay well under 3,000 milligrams.
“Exceeding that, even for a day or two, can cause severe, irreversible liver damage. It’s a remarkably fast track to liver failure, and people do it all the time.”
That means, although the body can handle acetaminophen, it must be within the safe limit.
Dr Parth Bhavsar also told the magazine that mixing NyQuil and Benadryl, an allergy relief medication, can cause drowsiness, confusion, slowed breathing, and can increase the risk of falling.
Both Benadryl and Tylenol contain diphenhydramine, which means taking both at the same time can cause memory loss, urinary retention, and dizziness.
In September, Trump and RFK Jr. claimed that any amount of Tylenol is unhealthy for pregnant women during a controversial press performance.
Trump, who stumbled over the word “acetaminophen” while addressing reporters, claimed that the chemical was linked to a “very increased risk of autism” in newborns.
“Effective immediately, the FDA will be notifying physicians that the use of aceta— well, let’s see how we say that,” Trump said before pausing. The president took a moment to sound out each syllable before trying once again. “Acetam — enophin. Acetaminophen. Is that OK? Which is basically commonly known as Tylenol.”
However, a new study has disputed the president’s controversial claims. Researchers from institutions in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Australia analyzed nine major reviews of the drug.
The nine reviews contained a total of forty studies, including one of the studies referenced by Trump.
According to the researchers, the existing evidence “does not show a clear link between in utero exposure to paracetamol and autism and ADHD in offspring.”
“Confidence in the findings of published systematic reviews on maternal paracetamol use during pregnancy and risk of autism and ADHD in offspring, with a very high overlap of primary studies, is low to critically low,” they added.
Seven of the reviews included in the investigation were identified as having a potential for bias and unmeasured components. Only one review appropriately accounted for genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors related to the alleged link between Tylenol and autism.
With those accommodations included in their assessment, the observed link between autism and Tylenol “disappeared or reduced.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also weighed in, telling The Independent that the organization was not surprised by the results. A spokesperson for the organization added that there is “no causal relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen in pregnancy and autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring.”
Essentially, that means that they do not believe there is a strong enough link between autism and using Tylenol while pregnant to make any definitive claims.
