How To Ensure It Is Safe For Your Child

Tylenol’s generic name is Acetaminophen and it is used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. So whether you use Tylenol for teething/ Tylenol for teething baby at night or whatever is prescribed by the doctor is absolutely safe when –

• Given in the appropriate dosages (according to weight & age)
• Given at the right intervals of time

If any of these are missed, then Tylenol can be the cause of liver damage or even liver failure.

If your child is taking any other medication, when you start giving them Tylenol as well, make sure that the other medications do not contain Acetaminophen, as it can cause an over dosage. Administering the medicine at appropriate intervals is also necessary.

Many cough & cold medicines contain Tylenol; for example –

• Benadryl Allergy and Cold Tablets (325 mg)
• Sudafed PE Nighttime Maximum Strength Tablets (325 mg)
• Theraflu Nighttime Severe Cold and Cough Powder (650 mg)
• Tylenol Plus Children’s Cold and Allergy Suspension
• Tylenol Sore Throat Nighttime Liquid
• Tylenol Chest Congestion Liquid

NOTE: Several of these medicines mention Acetaminophen as ‘APAP’ in their content list, which many parents might not be able to identify. So please be alert and aware of the content before administering more than one medicine to your child.

Acetaminophen overdose cases causing liver damage are also seen in adults. In fact, a recent study conducted by Larson & colleagues found that “Tylenol toxicity was the leading cause of acute liver failure in adults in the United States.” Of the studied 662 adults with acute liver failure, 42% of the cases were caused by Acetaminophen overdose.

We still say Tylenol is safe and very useful when no home remedies work for teething pain. But we do emphasize on the importance of the right amount of dosage and time intervals between two dosages. Hence most parents around the world are very comfortable and vouch for Tylenol for teething baby at night and even during the day.

Tylenol, with the 160mg/5mL strength and dosages based on the weight of the child is generally safe for babies. However, if you want to be doubly safe about it, talk to your doctor about dosage recommendations.