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Empathy loss: Tylenol makes you care less about other people’s pain – study
Published: 12 May 2016 | 18:06 GMT
AFP
Drugs that feature acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, may be quite good at helping people get through aches and pains, but they might also make them less sensitive to the pain or suffering of others.
In a new study, researchers from Ohio State University found that individuals who took painkillers featuring acetaminophen – an ingredient found in popular over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol, Sudafed, Vicks and hundreds of others – were less likely to empathize with other people’s pain than those who did not take the drug.
“These findings suggest other people’s pain doesn’t seem as big of a deal to you when you’ve taken acetaminophen, ” Dominik Mischkowski of the National Institutes of Health, a co-author of the study, said in a statement. “Acetaminophen can reduce empathy as well as serve as a painkiller.”
Published: 12 May 2016 | 18:06 GMT
AFP
Drugs that feature acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, may be quite good at helping people get through aches and pains, but they might also make them less sensitive to the pain or suffering of others.
In a new study, researchers from Ohio State University found that individuals who took painkillers featuring acetaminophen – an ingredient found in popular over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol, Sudafed, Vicks and hundreds of others – were less likely to empathize with other people’s pain than those who did not take the drug.
“These findings suggest other people’s pain doesn’t seem as big of a deal to you when you’ve taken acetaminophen, ” Dominik Mischkowski of the National Institutes of Health, a co-author of the study, said in a statement. “Acetaminophen can reduce empathy as well as serve as a painkiller.”