Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets Recalled

Alert: All of this product has now been recalled. Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets come in 100-count bottles with red EZ-Open caps. Consumers reported symptoms including “nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.” According to the manufacturer’s news release, so far, all of these health events “were temporary and non-serious”, but we are not yet hearing from the people who’ve taken it. I would not usually be recommending time delay Tylenol/Acetaminophen for arthritis symptoms, unless there were sensitivities to some of the other remedial products that are available. I have a handout on this at the clinic.

Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplets come in a 650 mg caplet, which is 150 mg more than a Tylenol Extra Strength, but come in a time release. Technically, if you are taking a dosage of 2 caps, that is 300 mg more (33% more) acetaminophen than a typical 2 cap dose of Extra Strength, while at the same time it releases into your body over a longer period. I don’t prefer Acetaminophen because of its impact on the liver and because it is hardly ever clearly marked to keep far away from alcoholic drinks. It is not an anti-inflammatory, and very few people know that. Also, I am not fond of blanket dosages of maximum amounts, I prefer people to take smaller dosages. I think that an 8 hour time-delay-release makes it harder for patients to keep track of what’s in the body. If you mismanage this dosage (easier to do unless you are rigorous) you might be exposing your liver to an over-burden of Acetaminophen.

I do think Tylenol is often useful for headaches and fever, but only if used properly and when absolutely necessary. Even casually overdosing Tylenol is certain to cause some liver damage.

Tylenol maker McNeil PPC Inc. has recalled all of this product, which is easily recognized by its distinctive red cap. Some of this product might have “an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor”. The new recall expands a five-lot recall of the product announced last November.
The source of the odor appears to come from the breakdown product of a chemical used to treat the wooden pallets on which the product’s packaging materials were transported and stored.

Consumers who purchased the products should immediately stop using them and contact McNeil for a refund or replacement. McNeil can be reached on its web site or by telephone at 888-222-6036 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Any adverse reactions linked to the product should be reported to the FDA MedWatch program at 800-FDA-0178 or online at www.fda.gov/medwatch.

All of the recalled products carry the UPC #0045-0838-21 and the Code #8382100. The lot numbers of the recalled products are 07CMC011, 07DMC022, 07DMC024, 07FMC032, 07FMC033, 07GMC038, 07GMC039, 07HMC045, 07HMC051, 07HMC053, 07JMC064, 07JMC069, 07JMC070, 07JMC071, 07XMC055, 07XMC058, 07XMC062, 08AMC002, 08AMC005, 08CMC026, 08DMC029, 08EMC037, 08EMC039, 08FMC044, 08FMC045, 08GMC050, 08GMC053, 08GMC063, 08GMC065, 08JMC103, 08JMC109, 08JMC110, 08JMC111, 08KMC124, 08KMC127, 08KMC131, 08KMC132, 08XMC093, 08XMC094, 08XMC095, 09AMC010, 09CMC041, 09EMC075, 09EMC079, 09EMC076, 09GMC096, 09GMC097, 09GMC099, 09JMC118, 09JMC126, 09KMC133, 09KMC134, 09XMC114, and 09XMC116.