Does Tylenol Actually Do Anything?

The pain reliever known as acetaminophen or paracetamol, marketed under brand names like Tylenol, Calpol or Panadol, has an excellent reputation. But the quality of evidence that it actually works is shockingly poor. So, do doctors and healthcare providers need to ditch Tylenol? We'll examine this question.

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[_maxgray]

Fever reduction is one of the most common uses of acetaminophen - and even low-grade fevers can cause body aches, headaches, etc. Would be interesting to see how much of the observed effect of acetaminophen can be linked to its fever-reducing properties.

[InsaneDoodle]

Tylenol has NEVER worked for my back pain, but my doctors kept giving it to me after I had a spinal fusion. It was both painful and frustrating that they kept giving it to me regardless of how ineffective it was. I'm glad someone is researching it's effectiveness for various types of pain. It doesn't make sense to give it for back pain if it doesn't work.

[ethervagabond]

Acetaminophin may have dubious pain relief effects, but one thing it definitely works for is reducing fever. I'm really surprised you don't mention that in a video titled "Does Tylenol Actually Do Anything?"

[gingersolacemusic]

With how long acetaminophen has been on the shelves, it's odd to me that we're only *just now* looking into whether or not it actually works

[GS-cgyn]

My spouse has often said, “You might as well take 2 jelly beans rather than take 2 Tylenol because their pain-killing effects are the same.” I have to agree.

[tinkergnomad]

I'm so thankful for this video. Acetaminophen has never worked for me as a pain reliever. As a fever reducer it's been helpful, but as a pain reliever it has never helped me. Most of the physicians I've said this to tend to assume me saying it doesn't work (and that I can't take NSAIDs) is "drug seeking behavior." It's exhausting.

[airplayn]

I used to be a toxicologist in a crime lab and told my VA doctor I didn't want Oxycodone with Acetaminophen for my broken back and spinal arthritis when the pills contained 1000mg or ONE GRAM of Acetaminophen. This was because I felt it it was bad for my liver and kidneys which had already been damaged by other prescription drugs. He told me not to worry about it. A few months later the FDA demanded the manufacturer reduce the amount to 300mg.

[damdamfino]

I’ve had chronic pain almost my entire life, and I’ve always been told by doctors that some people are either ibuprofen people or Tylenol people. I was an ibuprofen person - those giant horse pill Tylenol’s they kept prescribing me weren’t doing anything.

[rochellemcdonald]

One doctor once said, when we have a headache we reach for a pain reliever and a glass of water. He wondered, how often was it the water and not the pain killer that actually made us feel better? Dehydration is a big problem, that no one is looking at, too.

[michael]

I've been an Ibuprofen guy for years. It has always worked better for me than Acetaminophen. I rarely use things for pain, so it doesn't really matter for me

[Nalehw]

I have definitely found acetaminophen's effects completely imperceptible for most things I've used it for, like stress headaches and minor infections. (As a kid I wasn't totally convinced that painkillers were even real, because my parents kept buying paracetamol and I was too young to understand the difference.) Ibuprofen works for me WAY better. It's night and day.

Luckily I haven't got into any chronic pain yet, so I've never taken enough to cause side effects.

[sedmikrasky.]

I've been telling people that it doesn't do anything for me for years, and they always look at me like I'm the weird one. The only time I've ever noticed it working was when I had an IV of it for a very bad tonsillitis, and even then while it made my fever go down a bit, it still didn't make the pain go away. I don't know if it doesn't work at all or if it only works on certain situations, but still I'm glad to know that I'm not crazy.

[CrochetIsLife]

I’m a chronic pain patient. Acetaminophen caused problems with my liver enzymes. After my PCP allowed me to use single ingredient opioid pills, my liver went back to being happy and my pain was still kept down to a dull roar. I try to avoid NSAIDs due to their own side effects.

[mariaft]

I have tension headaches, and people are always surprised that acetaminophen works for me…but it does…quickly. For my mom too, and we are medically similar.

[leahcw]

It seems to work best for CNS pain such as headaches and nerve pain. It also appears to have a synergistic effect with NSAIDs. In my own experience, it helps relive migraine pain better than an NSAID alone.

[kat]

I have inflammatory arthritis and other chronic pain issues, and it definitely helps me. I’m very aware of the amount of pain I’m in at any given time, and it makes a difference. You couldn’t pry my Tylenol bottle out of my cold dead hands 😂

[jansenart]

Acetaminophen was instrumental in pain management for my wife's ear infection; she couldn't use ibuprofen 24/7 because of risk to kidneys, but just OTC Tylenol had a similar effect on the pain, so alternating doses was a safe and effective way of getting her through. It absolutely does work.

[guaip]

For those allergic to NSAIDs like me, Tylenol may be the only option OTC. It does not perform miracles, but is very effective for some very specific types of headaches.

[dogmakarma]

I never had any effect from acetamenophen. I was told 30 years ago that I was one of "10% of people" who are "immune" from it's effect. Now I fully understand. THANK YOU!!

[TheQuickSilver]

I knew for years that acetaminophen didn't work for me, it was only when I turned 35 that my family doctor told me that I have Gilbert's syndrome so Tylenol does nothing for me. I felt pretty validated but also kind of mad. For years other doctors and nurses kept telling me that it works and I was mistaken. Constantly telling me how wrong I was made me distrust the medical establishment for years