The vast majority of babies are given Tylenol (acetaminophen) within the first six months of life. It is the go to medicine for modern parents whenever discomfort, fever, or headaches strikes even very young children and its use is frequently encouraged by many pediatricians.
Now, a major peer-reviewed study of over 20,000 children suggests that giving this popular medicine even as infrequently as once per year could have a permanent, life-threatening health effect.
Researchers at the University of A Coruna in Spain asked the parents of 10,371 children ages 6-7 and 10,372 adolescents aged 13-14 whether their children had asthma and how often they had been given acetaminophen within the previous year and when they were babies.
The children in the younger age group who had received the medicine only once per year were at 70% greater risk for asthma while those receiving Tylenol once a month or more were shockingly 540% more likely to have asthma.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed European Journal of Public Health, also found that children who had even a single dose of Tylenol before their first birthday had a 60% risk of developing asthma.
In the older age group of 13 and 14 year-olds, asthma was 40 percent more likely if they had taken acetaminophen within the previous 12 months. The young teenagers were 250% more at risk if they took it once a month.
The researchers speculated that Tylenol, called paracetamol in the UK, may reduce a potent antioxidant called glutathione in the lungs and blood, which results in damage to the lung tissue. Glutathione is produced by the body (it is a combination of three amino acids: cysteine, glycine and glutamine) and is referred to as the “mother” of all antioxidants by Dr. Mark Hyman MD.
While Tylenol use is strongly associated with a significant increase in asthma and the effect is greater the more often the drug is taken, no causal link is yet established via randomized-controlled trials. Does this mean the results of this large study should be dismissed and parents should continue favoring use of the popular over the counter medication for fever and pain?
Not so fast. It would certainly be the wise and cautious approach for parents to investigate alternatives to Tylenol while additional follow-up research is performed. Asthma rates have been on the increase for decades at the same time Tylenol use became more widespread.
The potential link cannot and should not be ignored. Examination of 20,000 children establishing such a strong associative risk must be taken seriously and the dismissal of the research by some doctors is irresponsible given the seriousness and life altering outcome of an asthma diagnosis. “All the asthma symptoms analysed increased significantly with paracetamol consumption,” the researchers wrote.
Autoimmune Illness MUCH Higher in Children Who Use Tylenol
The associative link is even stronger when one considers that other autoimmune disease is also more prevalent with Tylenol use making the probability of inverse causation far less likely. Inverse causation would mean that children with asthma are simply more likely to pick up coughs and colds that require painkillers. For example, the Spanish study also concluded that the prevalence of eczema in children increased dramatically the more frequently Tylenol was used. In addition, scientists in New Zealand found in 2010 that Tylenol use before the age of 15 months was associated with a higher risk of children having allergies at the age of six.
Also in 2010, another large study of 11,000 children conducted by the Imperial College of London demonstrated that taking Tylenol in the first six months of life was associated with a higher prevalence of asthma and wheezing. Prior to that in 2009, researchers at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute in Canada found a higher risk of asthma for both adults and children via a meta-analysis of existing research.
Should savvy and health conscious parents wait awhile until the likely causative relationship is established? Definitely not! With such repetitive and significant associative links firmly established, taking that Children’s Tylenol and chucking it in the trash would be a really constructive action step.
There is absolutely no reason to use this product when raising children anyway. I’ve personally never owned a bottle of Children’s Tylenol let alone used it anytime in the past 15 years since my first child was born. There are plenty of other nontoxic options for dealing with fevers and pain in your young ones!
Another constructive action step? Finding a quality local pasture based farm and having your children drink unpasteurized grassfed milk. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology reported in August 2011 that children who drank raw milk had a 41% reduced chance of developing asthma. These same children had a nearly 50% reduction in hay fever as well even when other relevant factors were considered.
References
Babies given Calpol just once a month ‘are five times as likely to develop asthma’
The Mother of All Antioxidants
It’s Too Soon to Blame Paracetemol for Rising Childhood Asthma Rates
Exposure to Paracetemol and Asthma Symptoms
The effects of early and late paracetamol exposure on asthma and atopy: a birth cohort Prenatal and infant acetaminophen exposure, antioxidant gene polymorphisms, and childhood asthma
More Information
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Great to see this article Sarah as I frequently see this correlation in my office. It goes without saying that children today are exposed to more toxic stress than ever before. Bio-energetic medicine makes it possible to identify, measure, and target any medication residue, like Tylenol, at the cellular level trapped within specific organs, tissues, and glands.
It’s evident that the organs of elimination “attempts” to remove this toxic burden on its own..but struggles to do so when the body is already weakened and overwhelmed with toxic congestion from multiple exposures prenatally and after birth (chemicals, metals, radiation, pathogens, etc). Most children today retain more toxins than their young bodies can effectively process and eliminate. As a result, toxins easily back up into the system, becoming trapped within lungs, skin, brain, joints, etc.
All lung problems are due to compromised digestive and elimination systems that must be addressed first in order to move the needle towards full recovery. Unfortunately, this “congestion” does not show up on blood tests. Once the liver, kidneys, and gut are strengthened energetically, the lungs automatically release their burden downstream. We have seen plenty of children recover 100% from asthma without ever treating their lungs directly. The human body is wonderfully complex and knows exactly how to heal itself 🙂
I had a few minutes and figured I would share my perspective with your readers. Thanks again for all you do Sarah. Your blog is saving thousands of lives!
Oh to pick your brain, Sir. Or just absorb would be ok too:-)
Hi Pat. Left a comment below in case you are interested in hearing more.
also, Acetaminophen (tylenol) has the HIGHEST RATE OF ACCIDENTAL OVERDOSE of any over the counter medication. The information is staggering and terrifying.
I would encourage for everyone to listen to the the program that aired today on This American Life, the entire hour is about just this.
Link to show:
Ibuprofen is much safer, generally speaking, but Acetaminophen does have it’s place, it’s just vitally important that the instructions are followed exactly.
sorry, not sure if the link will work….
I do agree that the overuse of tylenol isn’t good at all for our bodies or our children’s but I am curious to know what you would reccommend for a child with febrile seizures? I noticed that belladonna was mentioned for fever control but when you have a child with febrile seizures belladonna is one thing you don’t want to touch as it has been known to cause/trigger seizures.
I was recently reading about febrile seizures as we had a young friend taken to the nearby Children’s Hospital for that – where they promptly gave her medicines the parents did not want her to have and interfered in all sorts of other areas too. What I read said that low blood sugar causes the seizure, and giving the child some apple juice, along with appropriate fever reducing techniques, might actually stop the seizure from happening. I intend to do more research on that for my family.
Low blood sugar does not cause febrile seizures. Low blood sugar causes hypoglycemic seizures. They do not typically occur together. Febrile seizures are encountered in early childhood (ie 6-12mos through ~6yrs) and are benign, generally self-limited and do not predispose to epilepsy. Treatment is supportive. On the other hand, if a child has a blood sugar low enough to cause a seizure, further investigation is warranted. While giving gluocse will help with the hypoglycemic seizures, it doesn’t do anything for febrile seizures.
Why are you treating for a febrile seizure?
My son’s very first fever included a febrile seizure, he was in-arms when it started. Called the ND immediately, she reassured me that it was not going to be any sort of big deal. If I wanted to, put him in a tepid bath. He and I took a tepid bath together, lowered his temperature a bit, he was fine. Why treat it with anything?
Because some kids stop breathing or barely breathe during seizures. If the seizure is quick and happens only once or twice in a lifetime, it is not too bad and probably does not need treatment, but imagine a febrile seizure lasting for several minutes or more, countless times during the first few years of life. I shouldn’t have to tell you that lack of oxygen to the brain and other organs is a very bad thing. That is why they are treated.
Mayan: thanks for responding. Baby Tylenol had a huge recall when I was pregnant and that prompted me to do some research on the main ingredients and found that ibuprofen was somewhat better, but to administer it after they eat- due to being hard on the stomach. After coming across this article I’ve just realized how harsh acetaminophen is with very serious side affects of asthma and causing allergies. It’s not that mainstream about fevers being a ‘good’ thing and letting them run their course. I didn’t really find that out until my daughter had ‘hand, foot and mouth disease’ and consider myself somewhat on the end of the spectrum of being a ‘researcher’ and an ‘informed consumer’. My 20 month old hasn’t had any antibiotics, vaccinations, or any other medication for that matter. For some reason I thought that using a fever reducer at night wasn’t serious, a little benign, and there must be others out there like me that have thought the same thing. So, I’m thankful for this article landing in my inbox and all the other readers (like you) that contribute to informing others and/or sharing experiences.
It is incorrect that Tylenol is called paracetamol in the UK. Acetaminophen is called paracetamol in the UK. Tylenol is a brand name of acetaminophen.
Ketchup is known as tomato sauce in Australia. That does not mean that Hunt’s is known as tomato sauce in Australia.
This is true Mayan, but nobody (very few people) refers to it as acetaminophen in America. Generally all acetaminophen is referred to as Tylenol regardless of what brand it actually is.
Did this study take into account how many kids had asthma to begin with or the history of asthma in the family. Also, there is so much “junk” in the air and our food and water that that could be the reason for the increase in asthma. To say it is because of tylenol is a little out there. I don’t think this test had a very good control to start with. To ask parents years later if their kid had tylenol and how much is ridiculous. I don’t keep up with that and doubt most parents do. I think more research is definitely needed.
put these two comments side by side-
The study, published in the European Journal of Public Health, also found that children who had even a single dose of Tylenol before their first birthday had a 60% risk of developing asthma. and
The vast majority of babies are given Tylenol (acetaminophen) within the first six months of life
suggest you should see 60% or more of kids having asthma. I personally do not know that many kids with asthma.
The study was conducted by asking parents up to 13 years later how frequent they gave their children tylenol has babies. Antidote research is not considered very accurate memories are faulty. I could not tell you which of my children had tylenol before 6 mnths without guessing.
Sarah or anyone else know if ibuprofen is any better then tylenol? I know that it’s still a medication that is far from homeopathic, but does not have the acetaminophen in it. I’m just curious as I’m now realizing how much this can cause long term side affects. My toddler was given ibuprofen at 9 months of age and off and on from there whenever she got a cold. She would wake up every hour on the hour and I wanted her to be able to sleep to fight the cold, as sleep (from what I understand) is imperative. So, I only administered it before she went to bed; however not during the day as I didn’t want her to feel better and start bouncing off the walls and essentially use energy up while she was sick. She is 20 months olds and doesn’t show any signs of allergies/asthma, so I’m wanted to know if tylenol is worse because of their main ingredient, which is listed in this article or if there just hasn’t been any similar studies done on other fever reduce.
Please see my response to Greg for an idea of how these medications negatively affect a sick child (this applies to ibuprofen as well). Although ibuprofen does not contain acetaminophen, it may actually be worse (depending on your child’s predispositions). Ibuprofen blocks immune function and thins the blood. It is also very harsh on the stomach. Unless the fever is dangerously high, it should not be lowered (naturally or artificially). Of course, if the fever is dangerously high, an ER visit is probably the best idea.
What about the children/persons that take tylenol and do not develop asthma?
Every individual is different. Each of us have a different set of strengths and weaknesses. Tylenol interferes with several different biochemical, physiological and neurological pathways. As Sarah pointed out, it also interferes with the respiratory system. The kids who get asthma from Tylenol might already have predisposition to respiratory issues (due to their own unique set of weaknesses), which the Tylenol exacerbates.
I realize there are all sorts of different situations, and all sorts of personalities – believe me, I have raised many of them with my large family! But I have never had a child scream incessantly when they were sick, and we do not use pain relievers. We have had exceptionally healthy children, partly due to not using church nurseries and homeschooling, but even we have experienced a round of strep throat, chicken pox, and influenza. The strep throat came just days after our house burned and was the hardest illness I can recall us having to deal with.
Personally I believe there is something to be said for cultivating a quiet spirit in children. Teaching them to rest and relax when they hurt. Subdued lighting. Comforting baths. Compresses. Comfort foods and beverages (healthy only, of course:-) I will even take it a step further and say that children who are well-disciplined when healthy will be less uncomfortable when sick, and more able to cope. Those are things I have used successfully with my children, and I now see the older children passing those techniques on to their children.
Let’s hope you dealt with strep with antibiotics, because if you didn’t, heart valve damage is a real possibility.