Know Your Dose for Cold and Flu Season

This post is brought to you by the Acetaminophen Awareness Coalition’s Know Your Dose campaign and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.

It's only January and already this cold and flu season has been a bit of a rough one for me. I got my flu shot in the fall when I took my son in for his six-year-well-checkup and I immediately became one of the very few exceptions to the rule when it comes to people who have a negative reaction to the flu shot. I spent the two days after that in bed with a massive headache, fever, and chills. It was the worst, but at least I wouldn't get the flu right? 

Fast forward to last week, and despite getting my flu shot, I still managed to get the flu. It was a rough few days with chills, fatigue, weak muscles, and more. I remember one night asking Derek to get me some medicine out of our cabinet and then asking him, "can I combine this flu medicine with acetaminophen? I feel so awful!"

He wasn't entirely sure and suggested I just take the cold and flu medication to be safe, to which I obliged. In the morning when I woke up, I'd read the medication box only to find out that there was already acetaminophen inside the medication that I'd already taken. 

After that experience it made me realize how many other adults may not be aware of what is truly inside of their medications. As we are on the brink of the deadliest flu season in over 40 years, the Acetaminophen Awareness Coalition is urging Americans to double check their medicine labels when treating cold and flu symptoms to avoid doubling up on acetaminophen.

Research published earlier this year shows that the odds of Americans taking more than the FDA-recommended maximum dose of 4,000 milligrams (mg) of acetaminophen in one day increased 24 percent during cold and flu season. This is because more people are using over-the-counter (OTC) combination medications to treat upper respiratory cold and flu symptoms, just like the medication we had in our own home, without realizing it. 

If you or your family members get sick this season, follow these four steps to make sure you’re using medicines with acetaminophen safely:

1. Always read and follow the label.

2. Know if your medicines contain acetaminophen.

3. Take only one medicine at a time that contains acetaminophen. Double check, don’t double up!

4. Ask your healthcare provider or a pharmacist if you have questions about dosing instructions or medicines that contain acetaminophen.

And remember, the number one recommendation to prevent illness and disease is hand washing. It's not a guarantee, but it's definitely an added measure that you should be taking to keep you and your family safe and healthy. We keep hand sanitizer in the car for the kids to use the second they get out of school, and then it's bath time right when they get into the house. Having school age children makes things so much more tricky because they're exposed to so many more germs, so being diligent about hand washing is the number one way to prevent illness! 


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