tylenol (acetaminophen) is toxic to the liver in large doses (such as in suicidal attempts where a patient ingests large amounts often more than 10 grams of the medication) and also in situations where a patient drinks alcohol heavily while taking high doses of tylenol. tylenol with alcohol ingestion can be toxic to the liver with lower doses of tylenol than without the alcohol. otherwise for the general population both tylenol and motrin (ibuprofen an nsaids) have low (1%) liver toxicity at the regular recommended doses. moreover both drugs can usually be used in the recommended doses prescribed by a physician reasonably safely for the "flu" symptoms caused by interferon used for treating chronic hepatitis c. with advanced complicated cirrhosis from hepatitis c for which interferon is rarely used all drugs including these must be prescribed with great caution if at all. in addition in these patients with advanced cirrhosis nsaids including motrin can worsen or even precipitate hepatorenal syndrome (a serious condition with both liver and kidney failure) and possibly cause intestinal bleeding.
is tylenol safe to use for “flu” symptoms caused by interferon for hepatitis c treatment? is motrin safer?