Tylenol Products Recall Expands

Jan 20 2010 UPDATE –McNeil Consumer Healthcare has broadened its original recall of over-the-counter Tylenol medications to include the following:

• Some batches of regular and extra-strength Tylenol
• Children's Tylenol
• Eight-hour Tylenol
• Tylenol arthritis
• Tylenol PM
• Children's Motrin and Motrin IB
• Benadryl Rolaids
• Simply Sleep
• St. Joseph's aspirin

These new recalls are related to December's Tylenol Arthritis Caplets recall due to a moldy smell, which caused nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. The FDA said about 70 people have either been sickened by the odor or at least noticed it. The recently recalled products weren’t the subject of the consumer complaints but were still voluntarily recalled as a precaution.

McNeil said it is continuing its investigation into this issue. The complete and up-to-date list of recalled lot numbers, which are printed on the side of the bottle, can be found here.

Tylenol Recalls Arthritis Pain Caplets

Dec 29 2009 ORIGINAL ALERT –McNeil Consumer Healthcare has announced the recall of all lots of Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles. The pills are believed to be contaminated with a chemical that may lead to nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.

In November 2009, consumers reported moldy, musty, or mildew-like odors coming from the recalled Tylenol pills, which are in a bottle with a red Ez-Open cap. The smell is caused by a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole, which results from the breakdown of a chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials. Though the health effects of the chemical have not been studied, consumers said they suffered nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.

The full list of recalled lot numbers, which are printed on the side of the bottle, can be found here. Consumers who purchased Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the red Ez-Open cap from the lots included in this recall should stop using the product immediately.