Treat Cold Symptoms With Care (NAPSA)—With cough and cold season upon us, people are being urged to become familiar with the active ingredients in products they may use to treat their cold symptoms. That’s because if you take more than one medication to treat cold symptoms, you could be ingesting too much of a common ingredient. Acetaminophen, for example, is a pain-relieving ingredient that can be found in many medications, including Tylenol. When taken in excess, it can cause liver failure and other serious complications. A recent survey of those who use a cold or flu product to treat their cold symptoms found that more than half were unable to identify the active ingredients in the product they use most often. Being unawareof the active ingredients in the medications you’re using can increase yourrisk for an accidental overdose of commonly used cough and cold ingredients. To ensure safe medication use, always check the packaging and carefully read the label to ensure that you know the active ingredients in any medications you are taking. Always heed the warnings on product labels and packaging— me If you take more than one medication for cold symptoms, you could be taking too much of a commoningredient. this is an important step in avoiding overdose. For more information, talk to your healthcare provider, who can help select the most appropriate product to treat your symptoms and answer any questions you mayhave. Survey results were obtained through phone interviews conducted November 2326, 2007, by TSC, a division of Yankelovich, among a representative sample of 2,017 adults aged 18 and over.
