Infant Acetaminophen Side Effects: An Introduction
As with any medicine, side effects are possible with
infant acetaminophen (Concentrated
Tylenol® Infants' Drops); however, not everyone who takes the medication will experience side effects. In fact, most infants tolerate it quite well. In most cases, side effects occur when too much infant
acetaminophen is given.
(This article covers many, but not all, of the possible side effects with infant acetaminophen. Your child's healthcare provider can discuss a more complete list of infant acetaminophen side effects with you.)
Serious Side Effects of Infant Acetaminophen
Infant acetaminophen is a non-prescription medication. With prescription medications, the manufacturers must provide "prescribing information" that includes detailed information about side effects. However, such information is not available for most non-prescription medications, including infant acetaminophen.
Most of the information about infant acetaminophen side effects comes from information about
acetaminophen overdose. Therefore, these serious side effects are not very common (unless, of course, you give your infant too much acetaminophen). These side effects include, but are not limited to:
- Sweating
- Diarrhea
- Irritability
- Nausea and vomiting
- Appetite loss
- Abdominal pain, especially near the liver (the upper right part of the abdomen)
- Yellow eyes or skin
- Liver failure
- Kidney failure
- Heart problems
- Coma.
Rarely, ulcers or bleeding in the digestive tract can occur with infant acetaminophen, although it is much less common for infant acetaminophen than for other non-prescription pain relievers.
Most infants do not experience any infant acetaminophen side effects, except when it is taken inappropriately.
