Tylenol & adult onset asthma risk - Asthma Message Board

******** · 07-27-2004, 10:06 AM

Hi all,

I am wondering if anyone has heard of the study finding that frequent use of tylenol raises the risk of adult onset asthma in women by well over 50%. I am concerned because I already have many allergies (skin & environmental) as well as a long history of chronic tylenol intake in the decades before it was linked to liver damage and hearing loss. And, after almost 10 yrs of absolutely no tylenol, I reluctantly began taking Norco (hydrocodone w/ T) for endometriosis pain in November. The last thing I need is asthma on top of many other chronic problems. How common is it for women, or anyone, to develop asthma in middle-age? I also wonder what the link between tylenol and asthma might be. Any ideas?

Thanks.

reader1 · 07-27-2004, 07:15 PM

I haven't heard of it, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's important to research thoroughly if you're concerned. Sometimes the info that comes out publicly about these types of studies is only part of the whole story.

For instance, a study that came out last year indicated that folks who take antibiotics frequently have higher incidence of cancer. Well, folks who take antibiotics frequently are getting a lot of bacterial infections and are probably experiencing some type of problem with their immune systems. One can't assume from the study that antibiotics cause cancer. It may very well be that folks whose immune systems are prone to getting bacterial infections may also have immune systems that would be more likely to get cancer, but they just haven't done studies on that yet.

It could very well be that folks who are going to wind up with adult asthma have some related condition that causes them to take a lot of tylenol (say,for sinus headaches). But without reading the full study, it's hard to say.