
President Donald Trump on Monday warned pregnant girls to not take Tylenol, exaggerating and mischaracterizing the science concerning the protection of the drug. Trump made the pronouncement throughout a press convention by which he and Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continued pushing questionable science about autism.
‘Don’t take Tylenol,’ Trump tells pregnant girls
Throughout a Monday press convention, Trump mentioned new federal pointers regarding the usage of acetaminophen, the lively ingredient in Tylenol, by pregnant girls. Trump claimed that Tylenol use by pregnant girls has been linked to autism. “Taking Tylenol will not be good. Alright, I’ll say it. It’s not good,” he stated. “For that reason, they’re strongly recommending that ladies restrict Tylenol use throughout being pregnant until medically essential. That’s, for example, in instances of extraordinarily excessive fever.”
Because the press convention continued, Trump went even additional, urging pregnant girls to not take Tylenol in any respect and stating that kids shouldn’t take Tylenol both. “Don’t take Tylenol,” Trump stated emphatically. “There’s no draw back. Don’t take it. You’ll be uncomfortable, it received’t be as straightforward, perhaps, however don’t take it. For those who’re pregnant, don’t take Tylenol and don’t give it to the infant after the infant is born,” Trump urged.
Trump’s alarmist warning doesn’t match the extra measured new FDA advice
Trump’s phrases on the press convention have been far more emphatic and alarmist than these issued within the new FDA guideline that he referenced. In a “Discover to Physicians on the Use of Acetaminophen Throughout Being pregnant,” Meals and Drug Administration commissioner Martin Makary wrote, “Lately, proof has gathered suggesting that the usage of acetaminophen by pregnant girls could also be related to an elevated danger of neurological situations resembling autism and ADHD in kids.” Nonetheless, Makary acknowledged, “To be clear, whereas an affiliation between acetaminophen and autism has been described in lots of research, a causal relationship has not been established and there are opposite research within the scientific literature.” Citing the difficulty as “an ongoing space of scientific debate,” Makary wrote that “clinicians ought to think about minimizing the usage of acetaminophen throughout being pregnant for routine low-grade fevers.” Makary additionally acknowledged that “acetaminophen is the most secure over-the-counter different in being pregnant amongst” main ache reduction remedy.
Trump, Kennedy warnings defy past scientific consensus
Throughout Trump’s press convention, Trump and Kennedy but once more promoted the thought of a hyperlink between vaccines and autism. They exaggerated the variety of vaccines that infants and younger kids are typically given and authorised the usage of a drug referred to as leucovorin to deal with signs of autism regardless of restricted analysis on utilizing the drug for that objective. Scientific consensus holds that there is no such thing as a demonstrated hyperlink between vaccines and autism, and whereas an affiliation between acetaminophen use by pregnant girls and autism in kids has been noticed in research, a causal hyperlink has not been established between the drug and autism. The brand new FDA suggestions are much like current pointers that warning pregnant girls to restrict their use of acetaminophen whereas nonetheless recommending it for instances resembling excessive fever. Kenvue, the corporate that produces Tylenol, said, “We consider impartial, sound science clearly reveals that taking acetaminophen doesn’t trigger autism,” per NPR. The corporate added, “We strongly disagree with any suggestion in any other case and are deeply involved with the well being danger this poses for anticipating moms and oldsters.”
For now, medical consensus suggests a cautious method by pregnant girls on the subject of Tylenol use, and the brand new FDA rules don’t change that method, regardless of Trump’s dramatic warnings. Moreover, the efforts by Trump and RFK Jr. to hyperlink vaccines and autism nonetheless don’t have scientific backing to assist the unconventional modifications being promoted by the Trump administration.