Tylenol warnings appear on new Tylenol caps: Tylenol warnings prompted by fatal liver, skin reactions as reported in videos - How much is too much?

The FDA said two years ago that 325mg of acetaminophen per pill is enough. Extra Strength Tylenol has 500mg. The FDA is not reinforcing its own rule. 

Too much acetaminophen causes fatal liver failure and fatal skin reactions. 

The problem is that acetaminophen is contained in 600 different prescription and non-prescription drugs and it is not always called acetaminophen but sometimes in a shorter version such as “APAP,”  or “acetam.”

“Acetaminophen is the most common drug ingredient in America and can be found in more than 600 different over-the-counter and prescription medicines which include Tylenol, Midol, Benadryl, Nyquil, Sudafed, Robitussin, Vicks, and other products. Many of the products containing acetaminophen are used as pain relievers, fever reducers, sleep aids as well as cough, cold, and allergy medicines.”

Johnson & Johnson is the world’s largest maker of health-care products. Thecompany’s over-the-counter drugs accounted for about 6.5 percent of the company’s $67 billion in sales last year.

In an e-mail today, Johnson & Johnson announced that the new Tylenol warning will begin in October. The new Tylenol warning on the caps will say “CONTAINS ACETAMINOPHEN” and “ALWAYS READ THE LABEL.”

So how much is too much?

Since there is no true guideline on how much acetaminophen a person can take before showing symptoms there is unfortunately no telling.

If a person can take 6 pills of Extra Strength Tylenol per day, that would be six times 500 mg of acetaminophen equaling 3000 milligram. The FDA recommends less than 2000 if it follows its own rule of 325mg per pill.

But the Tylenol warning label does not say to also add up any other acetaminophen taken by sleep aids, sinus allergy medications, or other prescription and non-prescription drugs.

Adding it all together, it would be interesting to see how much acetaminophen someone is taking beyond Tylenol's recommended 3000 milligram.