When Studies Raise Questions: A Parent's Perspective on Tylenol and Our Most Precious Humans

RFK Jr. has been making headlines recently for a couple of things—his stance on vaccines and his suggestion that Tylenol needs to be reviewed when offered to pregnant women and children. Then I saw a post today where someone was pushing back against this—a mom who happens to be a nurse, sharing how the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recently reaffirmed the safety of acetaminophen (Tylenol) during pregnancy, citing "more than two decades of research showing no harm." She seemed frustrated that we keep "blaming moms" and suggested we focus on bigger health issues instead.

Here's the thing: I don't think this is about blame at all. It's about having access to information and the freedom to make informed choices for our families.

When Research Raises Red Flags

As an engineer, I understand that science is far less black and white than we like to think it is. Science is never clear-cut. In every study, there are scientists who seldom agree on every point. Usually, you'll find 50/50 opinions and conclusions going in either direction. Often, many scientists have information that runs counter to the funding source or the message that sponsors want to promote.

Here's something crucial that people don't always grasp: nobody can claim to prove disconnection. We can only prove links. Nobody can prove things are NOT related. For example, we might say autism was correlated with x, y, and z factors. But we can never definitively say it is NOT linked to something—only that we don't have data to say otherwise.

This is exactly what bothers me about ACOG's statement. For them to claim "There is no link between Tylenol (acetaminophen) use during pregnancy and autism in children," they are already claiming more in grammar than they have the power to. Nobody can say there is no link, only that they have not read research or data that says otherwise. Their failure to see what is in print, their lack of education, proves nothing—except that their opinion should be questioned.

Recently, some studies have raised questions about acetaminophen use during pregnancy and early childhood. These aren't fringe theories—they're legitimate research findings published in peer-reviewed journals. When any study suggests potential risks to our children, shouldn't that at least warrant a conversation?

The Power of Informed Choice

Here's something worth shouting from the rooftops: nothing is off limits for discussion as a parent. This is not about blame—it's about education. It's about learning you have the power to change things.

As humans today, we live in a world of freedom and access—unprecedented access to information, and the freedom to talk about it openly. This has never happened before in human history. We can hear from scientists themselves, read the data ourselves, not rely on the red tape political statement that comes out a decade later. It takes 17 years for information to make it into the medical curriculum. Are we willing to wait for our children to be 17 for the new nurses and doctors to be up to speed?

It's in the news that Tylenol may be harmful to kids and pregnant women. (Gasp.) So let's dive in.

As with anything, you should be able to make a hard choice. If you have a 104-degree fever, then fine—it might be worth it. But knowing that someone, anyone, any study at all says it may do harm, then don't take it daily like candy. Maybe that headache is worth suffering through for 2 hours if it could have long-term side effects on your children (assuming you're pregnant—because who cares about us as just adults, right?).

We should be equally careful with what we give our children directly.

There's so much animosity about very outdated and privately funded safety studies being questioned. LET'S QUESTION EVERYTHING. Let's talk. Our children deserve it.

Understanding How Tylenol Works in the Body

Here's what really concerns me about how Tylenol works: it puts a heavy load on our body's main detoxification system, specifically something called glutathione. Glutathione is like our master antioxidant—its job is to grab onto waste products and toxins and help flush them out. When your body processes acetaminophen, it can use up your glutathione reserves temporarily. If that main detox pathway is busy or depleted because of Tylenol, other toxins that your body would normally clear out might hang around longer.

This became personal for me when I was dealing with adult acne. Glutathione support and morning lemon detox water were top recommendations I kept seeing. Learning that Tylenol specifically inhibits this hard-working body process really drove home why we should be cautious about casual use.

I've read that Tylenol holds in toxins (prevents elimination), so if given during vaccines in kids, it causes the heavy metals to stay in longer. Safety studies are not performed as vaccines are given in real life—in combo, often with Tylenol. Also, in a study on circumcision, the only children long-term with any negative side effects were those who took Tylenol for pain after. I can go on.

The Real Science

Here are our over-the-counter pain killing options:

Tylenol: diminishes glutathione, (aka our detoxifying pathway), and causes the body to holds in toxins
- (vaccines should be considered toxins, since they have heavy metals like aluminum and mercury, and other preservatives known to cause human harm, and are not meant to stay in the body. safety studies assume swift removal, with working detox pathways)
Motrin: not approved for babies <6m
Ibprofin: causes ulcers, not approved for babies <6m.

A Personal Wake-Up Call

My dad's recent experience really drove this home for me. During his cancer treatment, he was taking Tylenol regularly for pain management—maybe a little too much, as he put it. His blood tests went south, and doctors became concerned about liver damage. He even needed additional liver testing. Once he stopped taking the Tylenol, everything returned to normal.

This isn't to scare anyone away from necessary medication. If you have a 104-degree fever, that's a medical emergency where the benefits clearly outweigh potential risks. But it made me think: if we're giving something "like candy" without considering cumulative effects, maybe we should pause and ask more questions.

The Broader Picture: Everyday Products We Don't Question

This brings up a broader point about everyday products we use without thinking. Take Tums, for example—something many pregnant women reach for during those brutal final months of acid reflux. Dr. Mark Hyman discusses how antacids like Tums can seriously mess up our microbiome and acid profile, which is especially concerning when you're building a baby who depends on your gut health.

Or think about lotion ingredients and perfumes. We put fragrances directly on our necks—often even while breastfeeding—without considering that these chemicals are being absorbed through our skin and potentially affecting our children through skin contact or breast milk.

The point isn't to become paranoid about everything, but to recognize that many seemingly harmless things we use casually might deserve more thoughtful consideration, especially during pregnancy and early childhood when systems are developing.

Why We Can't Just Wait for Our Doctors

This isn't about rejecting medical advice—it's about being informed participants in our healthcare decisions. We hire our doctors. They are busy. I believe they are good people, but they are stuck often in an insurance hamster wheel that gives them 5 to 15 minutes with patients. We should not be waiting on our overworked doctors to be getting educated on new science. We would love to, but in reality, they don't have time to unravel the insurance model that pays them. The reality is our healthcare system is incentivized to have patients for life.

We are finally emerging to a point where we own our data. Our doctor can sign off on us getting a blood test, but we can get infinite opinions on how to interpret that data—even to know what blood tests to take! Insurance models do not let us use our insurance money on prevention. That is not good for their bottom line. They don't want to spend money on us looking to see if we can prevent issues before they become real problems (like vitamin and hormone imbalances that are easy to check).

For example, I was interested in having children, and wanted a full blood panel to know my nutrient status, since many things are needed to build a baby's spine and brain and body. My doctor said I would need to have 3 miscarriages to be able to use my insurance money to get the blood tests I was requesting. I was not asking him to interpret them—I was just asking him to OKAY my want to get my blood examined, to take it elsewhere and interpret it myself based on easy-to-find information on what babies need.

This is all to say there are many examples where we need to do this ourselves. Doctors are great for taking care of sick people. But I want to be a vibrant person. I want my children to be given the best opportunity possible. I was never okay not getting A's. I want to get 100% on everything I do, and if I can do something to provide a better starting base for my kids, then I give a damn if someone, anyone, says that we should be cautious with drugs with our kids.

Prevention vs. Treatment: Where We Put Our Energy

When we talk about prevention and lifestyle factors, we're not dismissing the complexity of health conditions or blaming anyone. We're acknowledging that some risks might be modifiable—and that's actually empowering.

The statistic that troubles me most: today, 1/3 of all cancers are found to be related to lifestyle choices. One-third of all cancers would disappear if we made changes we know about. But less than 1% of cancer funds are spent on educating the public on things like this. (Not saying cancer is related to Tylenol, but this falls in the education bucket.)

I think the nurse mom's point was that our research dollars should be put more toward cancer research instead of questioning things like Tylenol. But I disagree. Not enough money is spent on educating the public how they can take control of their health now. Today. The current approach puts too much emphasis on the hope for a pill that will cure ALL KINDS of cancer in ALL KINDS of people, which the science says is not that simple.

We need to work on the upstream end to get out of being pummeled by the wave of needing immediate care, rather than just waiting until we're drowning and then trying to stop it from happening. We each have different toxic loads and burdens and reactions to those specific things—whether food or pollution or whatever stress. We need to learn about ourselves, as well as the things that are bad for everyone. We need to learn there are tools to use when needed, but should not be abused, and should be warned of overuse. Strongly.

Think about it this way: if there was a pill that cured 1/3 of all cancer today, it would be negligent to not prescribe it. Instead, we say, "everything causes cancer" so just go about your day. The stress is not worth the trouble. I disagree wholeheartedly. It is an uphill battle, but as with every hike, it takes just one step in front of the other. And it helps if you have others with you supporting you as you go.

Statistically, we individually are more powerful than waiting on an insurance-modeled system to find the cure. There will be no one bullet for cancer—there are infinite kinds and varieties. But of course, good progress has been made on removing it once we have it. Prevention is a huge part being dismissed.

And here's the thing about Tylenol specifically: it's temporary pain relief that hardly works. If there's science telling us it can do harm to children, in any possible way, ditch it until we know better.

Using Big Data for Individual Health Decisions

And while we have this "big data" problem—too much information to reasonably sort through—we also have resources to help us navigate it all better than ever before. We should put all that data to work, studying in detail all the tiny things and products we individually use and see how everything correlates. Some companies are already doing this, especially related to children's health, asking detailed questions about parents' and grandparents' histories—what toothpastes they used, how they did their hair, what foods they ate, how births went. These kinds of details help us in the long run, because our technology can do the number-crunching work we could never do before, aggregating this information into actionable insights.

The reality might be that during those 9 months of pregnancy—which are often very tough on women—we may just have to tough it out without the Tylenol and Tums. Maybe we'll be very thankful for that choice 9 or 90 years later.

What Does Appropriate Caution Look Like?

For me, appropriate caution means really having conversations with ourselves and our healthcare providers. Is this a minor headache that might pass in an hour, or is this a situation where pain relief is genuinely necessary? What does my doctor think about the emerging research? Are there alternatives for minor discomfort that I haven't considered?

It means thinking about cumulative effects. Regular use is different from occasional use during genuine need. It means staying informed about evolving research while working with trusted medical professionals who are willing to have real discussions about risk and benefit.

Moving Forward

Nothing should be off-limits for discussion when it comes to our children's health. This isn't about fear-mongering or rejecting modern medicine. It's about having honest conversations, asking good questions, and making thoughtful decisions for our families.

It's not blame. It's understanding there are things we can do, and that is power. We should all educate ourselves on ways to help when possible.

In case anyone is interested, I have a full blog on this, and vaccines, on my personal site. I am shy, and don't like to share my opinions, but a few things we should all know: take Tylenol ONLY if you really think you need it. Try to separate children's vaccines so they are not getting mega doses at once in things not studied as administered, and do not give to kids when sick. That's about it. Nothing is off the table. We are allowed to talk about this. It is not voodoo. My kids are totally vaccinated—I just did so while 100% informed.

Our children deserve nothing less than our most informed, thoughtful care.

This post reflects my personal perspective and experiences. It is not medical advice. Always consult with qualified healthcare providers about medical decisions for you and your family.