Cold/Flu Season Warning: Limit Acetaminophen (Tylenol) Use

The Problem with Tylenol

A lot of folks have been coming down with the flu lately, so it’s a good time to remember all good things in moderation. Acetaminophen is in “more than 600 medications, both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC)“– medications treating everything from pain to allergy, cough, cold, flu, and sleeplessness. At lower doses, Tylenol can be helpful for treating symptoms in both children and adults. However, in higher amounts, acetaminophen is known to cause severe liver damage (see signs and implications below).

Safe Dosing

The FDA recommends an adult dosing at no more than 325 mg per dosage; with a daily cap of 4000 mg. In this case, dosage does not refer to the label of a product, but the total amount consumed. This becomes particularly important for folks who take prescription pain medication containing acetaminophen, such as Percocet or Vicodin, who have come down with a cold or flu and are accustomed to reaching for a product like Dayquil. Equally common would be someone who takes the OTC pain reliever Excedrin who might be considering taking Robitussin Cold and Flu or Benadryl Allergy and Cold.

To learn more about dosing for young ones, consider reading: “Know Concentration Before Giving Acetaminophen to Infants,” and “Acetaminophen – It’s Important to Give the Correct Dose to our Children.”

Products Containing Acetaminophen

Even if you’re not sure what you’re taking contains acetaminophen, it’s very much worth double-checking the label– whether or not your medication is prescription. For a short list of some of the most common acetaminophen-containing OTC and prescriptions, visit KnowYourDose.org.

Signs and Implications of Liver Damage

Liver damage from excess Tylenol intake is nothing to scoff at. The damage can be permanent, and it can also result in liver failure or death over the course of several days. What’s more, “[y]ou may not notice the signs and symptoms of liver damage right away because they take time to appear. Or, you may mistake early symptoms of liver damage (for example, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting) for something else, like the flu.” Want to test your liver knowledge? Take a quiz.

Natural Medicine Alternatives

Not sure if you remember, but when SARS broke out just over a decade ago, conventional medicine turned to the aid of Chinese herbal medicine. They found that using Chinese herbs as an adjunctive therapy resulted in “better control of fever, quicker clearance of chest infection, lesser consumption of steroids and other symptoms relief.” While herbal treatment may not always mask all symptoms during the healing process, side effects tend to be few and far between. Between Chinese herbs, Western herbs and homeopathy, there are a wide array of natural options for treating cold and flu available to consumers. (Additionally, if you haven’t read already acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are also excellent at regulating pain.)

Preventative Measures

Maintaining a healthy gut is key to maintaining health. Eating fermented foods regularly and/or taking a higher dose probiotic a few months before cold season starts can often reduce the duration and severity of colds. Dr. Mercola, alternative medicine proponent and osteopathic physician, also reports that supplementing Vitamin D can “cut your flu risk nearly in half.” The cheapest thing (and yet often so challenging for folks!) you can do is get plenty of rest, stay hydrated, and keep your stress levels down. Eat well and exercise.

It goes without saying, acupuncture and Reiki are excellent ways to help keep the body and mind supported both before, during, and after illness. Concerned about your regimen and ready to be proactive? Make an appointment today!

Good Sun, Bad Sun

The sun’s not the only who gets spots. So what’s the story, anyway? We need sun exposure for vitamin D production, indicated for everything from bone loss/fracture to heart, pulmonary, and skin disease–heck, you name it, and you’ll probably find a correlation! In fact, no more than about 20% of our vit. D comes from food sources such as fish and fortified foods; the rest comes from the sun. And sorry folks of color – you’re at higher risk of deficiency. Between 2001 and 2006, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, found that as much as almost 75% of blacks were showing inadequate or deficient levels of the vitamin (yikes!). But with more and more information available about damage from the sun’s rays, our culture has gone from sun bathing to sun scathing. Everyone is asking, “What’s the safest way to protect oneself and stay healthy?”

The most important thing I learned only within the last two years (if you’d believe it took that long!) is that there’s actually two types of sunscreens – chemical and physical. Chemical sunscreens (e.g. avobenzone, octinoxate, oxybenzone, etc) actually get absorbed into the skin, where they then absorb incoming UV rays before they damage your skin. Physical, or mineral (such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide), sunscreens sit on top of the skin where they deflect the rays. Now seeing as we absorb about two-thirds of what’s put on the skin, it may be interesting to note that cosmetic UV filters were found in 85% of human milk sampled from Swiss mothers between 2004-2006. (Whoa!) These are the same chemicals found in mice to actually disrupt hormones. While it may not be worth getting your panties all up in a bunch–people are still on either side of the bench as to whether or not these chemicals have the potential to actually increase your risk for cancer–I can’t help but ask, is it really worth the risk?

Mineral sunscreens get their load of bad rap too. The main argument is against nanoparticles which some argue are toxic to humans and the ecosystem. Specifically, nano-titanium dioxide has been shown when inhaled (i.e. not applied topically) to show pulmonary inflammation as bad as that induced by asbestos. Others argue that zinc oxide is photoreactive, and can cause free radical damage to the skin. (Badger does a good job of explaining these arguments in detail.) While the first argument is easy to get around – there are plenty of mineral sunscreens that do not use nanotechnology – there is something to the last argument. How effective added antioxidants are to a sunscreen is a little up for grabs; but certainly I’d much rather go with this class of sunscreen than dumping yet more chemicals into my body and sewer.

A lot of people ask, “What about sunscreen in a facial moisturizer?” Almost inevitably, these sunscreens are your typical chemical sunscreen. And what’s worse – is most of the time folks put moisturizer first thing in the morning and perhaps again at night, but only go out in the sun in the afternoon. All that chemical absorbed for absolutely no good reason! The FDA has even stated companies can no longer claim products to be “waterproof,” “sunblock,” or “sweatproof” simply because people aren’t applying their sunscreen often enough for them to be effective (a “water-resistant” product will only be effective for 40 – 80 minutes). So, I encourage folks to use sunscreen as sunscreen, when you need it. The NIH suggests 5 – 30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 AM and 3 PM at least twice a week to the exposed areas without sunscreen for sufficient vitamin D production; given this, consider how often are you in sun and during what hours to get a better idea of how often you’ll need to apply and *reapply* sunscreen.

Lastly, [your word here] bless the simplicity of a hat and long sleeves! Be fashionable, and comfortable while saving your skin. While I was down in Australia, I used something like this — saved me big time!

PS. Always look for products that offer broad-spectrum coverage. Interested to learn more about safety ratings? Try the EWG Cosmetic Database.

PPS. On the subject of the vitamin D and its role in bone health, Liz Smith of Medical Integration Services will be conducting affordable and easy bone density tests at Met Market in Queen Anne on June 15th (Fri) 3 – 7p and June 16th (Sat) 11 – 2p.

What’s the difference between chemical and mineral sunscreen?

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Sun exposure is important; so is safety.

The sun’s not the only who gets spots. So what’s the story, anyway? We need sun exposure for vitamin D production, indicated for everything from bone loss/fracture to heart, pulmonary, and skin disease–heck, you name it, and you’ll probably find a correlation! In fact, no more than about 20% of our vit. D comes from food sources such as fish and fortified foods; the rest comes from the sun. And sorry folks of color – you’re at higher risk of deficiency. Between 2001 and 2006, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, found that as much as almost 75% of blacks were showing inadequate or deficient levels of the vitamin (yikes!). But with more and more information available about damage from the sun’s rays, our culture has gone from sun bathing to sun scathing. Everyone is asking, “What’s the safest way to protect oneself and stay healthy?”

Chemical versus mineral sunscreen

The most important thing I learned only within the last two years (if you’d believe it took that long!) is that there’s actually two types of sunscreens – chemical and physical. Chemical sunscreens (e.g. avobenzone, octinoxate, oxybenzone, etc) actually get absorbed into the skin, where they then absorb incoming UV rays before they damage your skin. Physical, or mineral (such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide), sunscreens sit on top of the skin where they deflect the rays. Now seeing as we absorb about two-thirds of what’s put on the skin, it may be interesting to note that cosmetic UV filters were found in 85% of human milk sampled from Swiss mothers between 2004-2006. (Whoa!) These are the same chemicals found in mice to actually disrupt hormones. While it may not be worth getting your panties all up in a bunch–people are still on either side of the bench as to whether or not these chemicals have the potential to actually increase your risk for cancer–I can’t help but ask, is it really worth the risk?

Are there any concerns with mineral sunscreen?

Mineral sunscreen can get a bad rap too. The main argument is against nanoparticles which some argue are toxic to humans and the ecosystem. Specifically, nano-titanium dioxide has been shown when inhaled (i.e. not applied topically) to show pulmonary inflammation as bad as that induced by asbestos. Others argue that zinc oxide is photoreactive, and can cause free radical damage to the skin. (Badger does a good job of explaining these arguments in detail.) While the first argument is easy to get around – there are plenty of mineral sunscreens that do not use nanotechnology – there is something to the last argument. How effective added antioxidants are to a sunscreen is a little up for grabs; but certainly I’d much rather go with this class of sunscreen than dumping yet more chemicals into my body and sewer.

Should I use a facial moisturizer with sunscreen?

A lot of people ask, “What about sunscreen in a facial moisturizer?” Almost inevitably, these sunscreens are your typical chemical sunscreen. And what’s worse – is most of the time folks put moisturizer first thing in the morning and perhaps again at night, but only go out in the sun in the afternoon. All that chemical absorbed for absolutely no good reason! The FDA has even stated companies can no longer claim products to be “waterproof,” “sunblock,” or “sweatproof” simply because people aren’t applying their sunscreen often enough for them to be effective (a “water-resistant” product will only be effective for 40 – 80 minutes). So, I encourage folks to use sunscreen as sunscreen, when you need it. The NIH suggests 5 – 30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 AM and 3 PM at least twice a week to the exposed areas without sunscreen for sufficient vitamin D production; given this, consider how often are you in sun and during what hours to get a better idea of how often you’ll need to apply and *reapply* sunscreen.

Beyond chemical or mineral sunscreen use

Lastly, [your word here] bless the simplicity of a hat and long sleeves! Be fashionable, and comfortable while saving your skin. While I was down in Australia, I used something like this — saved me big time!

PS. Always look for products that offer broad-spectrum coverage. Interested to learn more about safety ratings? Try the EWG Cosmetic Database.

PPS. On the subject of the vitamin D and its role in bone health, Liz Smith of Medical Integration Services will be conducting affordable and easy bone density tests at Met Market in Queen Anne on June 15th (Fri) 3 – 7p and June 16th, 2012 (Sat) 11 – 2p.