Acetaminophen: More Than We Thought

Source:

(CNN)Feeling so happy you just can’t stand it? You might want to pop some acetaminophen.

A new study has found that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, most forms of Midol and more than 600 other medicines, reduces not only pain but pleasure, as well.

The authors of the study, which was published this week, say that it was already known that acetaminophen blunted psychological pain. But their new research led them to the conclusion that it also blunted joy — in other words, that it narrowed the range of feelings experienced.

“This means that using Tylenol or similar products might have broader consequences than previously thought,” said Geoffrey Durso, a doctoral student in social psychology at Ohio State University and the lead author of the study. “Rather than just being a pain reliever, acetaminophen can be seen as an all-purpose emotion reliever.”