Acetaminophen
Ranked 2 of 6 pain relievers by recommenders
Cheap, widely sold pain and fever reliever that many find safe at the labeled dose and effective, sometimes better than opioids. Main caveat: liver damage and deaths from overdose, and some say it barely relieves pain.
Cheap, widely sold pain and fever reliever that many find safe at the labeled dose and effective, sometimes better than opioids. Main caveat: liver damage and deaths from overdose, and some say it barely relieves pain.
32 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 14
- criticize it
- 18
- approval share
- 44%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 14 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Safe when taken as directed
“if taken as directed it's extremely safe, moreso than just about any other painkiller”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Should DayQuil Be Legal?” “it has virtually no side effects at all when used as directed”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Should DayQuil Be Legal?” “its still safe to take acetaminophen at the proper dose”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Mystery in the Medicine Cabinet: Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and what to know” Works better than opioids
“Acetaminophen actually worked better than the opioid for me”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Mystery in the Medicine Cabinet: Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and what to know” “Acetaminophen worked wonders, even better than an opioid.”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Mystery in the Medicine Cabinet: Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and what to know” “acetaminophen reduced the pain even more than opioids!”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Mystery in the Medicine Cabinet: Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and what to know” Effective pain relief for many
“I take 1000mg acetaminophen and boom my pain is vastly reduced”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Mystery in the Medicine Cabinet: Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and what to know” “acetaminophen works amazingly for all these”
Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Mystery in the Medicine Cabinet: Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and what to know” Cheap and easy to buy
“Acetaminophen is one of the few cheap, easy, and working products on the shelf!”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Should DayQuil Be Legal?” “I'll happily buy generic acetaminophen in the US”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Should DayQuil Be Legal?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Liver damage and overdose risk
“The distance between the therapeutic and liver toxic doses is too small for kids”
Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Eat Real Food – Introducing the New Pyramid” “thousands get their livers destroyed every year from it when alternatives exist”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “Terence Tao: Math 2.0 [pdf]” “acetaminophen overdoses, which are a horrible way to go”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Should DayQuil Be Legal?” - Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Should DayQuil Be Legal?”
Little or no pain relief
“it really hasn't ever relieved any pain I've ever taken it for”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Should DayQuil Be Legal?” “acetaminophen does nothing for pain and only helps with fever”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Should DayQuil Be Legal?” “Acetaminophen is almost worthless to me as a painkiller”
Comment from 30 Apr 2026 in “You're probably taking the wrong painkiller: acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen” - Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Mystery in the Medicine Cabinet: Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and what to know”
- Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Mystery in the Medicine Cabinet: Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and what to know”
Doubts about long-term safety
“regular paracetamol use, but not ibuprofen, associated with higher risk of new-onset all-cause dementia”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “No link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes” “we have no substantive or high-quality evidence that the drug is safe.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “No link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes” “I don't really trust acetaminophen and tend to avoid it.”
Comment from 1 May 2026 in “You're probably taking the wrong painkiller: acetaminophen vs. ibuprofen” - Comment from 22 Apr 2026 in “The Mystery in the Medicine Cabinet: Acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and what to know”
Other pain relievers people recommend
The four most recommended other pain relievers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ibuprofen | 32 | 23 | 58% | 5 | — | — |
| AcetaminophenThis page | 14 | 18 | 44% | 3 | — | — |
| Naproxen | 8 | 7 | 53% | 2 | — | — |
| Paracetamol | 7 | 10 | 41% | 3 | — | — |
| Tylenol | 5 | 10 | 33% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
39 of the 42 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“thousands get their livers destroyed every year from it when alternatives exist”
“regular paracetamol use, but not ibuprofen, associated with higher risk of new-onset all-cause dementia”
“we have no substantive or high-quality evidence that the drug is safe.”
“I know it has more side-effects than listen on the bottle.”
“Note that it's also hard on the liver.”
“some evidence they work better together”
“if taken as directed it's extremely safe, moreso than just about any other painkiller”
“acetaminophen does nothing for pain and only helps with fever”
“I'll happily buy generic acetaminophen in the US”
“acetaminophen overdoses, which are a horrible way to go”
“it has virtually no side effects at all when used as directed”
“it really hasn't ever relieved any pain I've ever taken it for”
“The safety ratio of acetaminophen is under 4.”
“Acetaminophen is one of the few cheap, easy, and working products on the shelf!”
“I don't really trust acetaminophen and tend to avoid it.”
“I can't honestly say Ive experienced releif using either.”
“Acetaminophen is almost worthless to me as a painkiller”
“I'd still use APAP first line because it's the only one where you can avoid the severe side effect with certainty”
“Acetaminophen worked wonders, even better than an opioid.”
“Acetaminophen worked far, far better than all these.”
“Acetaminophen actually worked better than the opioid for me”
“acetaminophen reduced the pain even more than opioids!”
“I take 1000mg acetaminophen and boom my pain is vastly reduced”
“acetaminophen works amazingly for all these”
“acetaminophen seems to do very little for”
“has subtle, but noticeably negative affects on my cognition and general energy levels”
“i've tried acetaminophen, even 1.2g of it, to no avail.”
“It makes your interstitial glucose read higher than your blood glucose.”
“very few people should be taking either of these drugs”
“Unfortunately nether paracet or ibuprofen worked.”
“acetaminophen does absolutely nothing for pain”
“alternating acetaminophen and ibuprofen every 6 hours as needed works well”
“The latter does nothing for my issues.”
“it does absolutely nothing with actual pain”
“found it was much more effective at reducing fever with no apparent side effects”
“Only ignorant consumers would attempt to counteract the body's very own defenses against infection and disease.”
“its still safe to take acetaminophen at the proper dose”
“It reduces suffering in the moment, which is sometimes the entire goal.”
“The distance between the therapeutic and liver toxic doses is too small for kids”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.