Every so often I post a link from Ask Metafilter , a community where people can ask questions and others try to help them out with an answer. From the “I hope no one takes this random person’s advice comes this doozy :

The poster has asked if it’s okay to take expired Tylenol. Fair question.

The very first answer on the thread:

But more seriously, I was in the hospital for a fever once and the doctor packed me full of tylenol. I asked if I’d OD or something and he told me that there was a maximum absorption of some kind, so I shouldnt[sic] worry.

I’m not a doctor, and I don’t know how the chemical composition degrades over time(or if the decompositions are dangerous), but I don’t think you’d have to worry about ODing if you need to take more to make up for any that has degraded.

The poster says he or she is not a doctor, and I’m sure the person was just trying to help, but it is ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE that you can’t overdose on Tylenol. It’s actually not that hard to do, and it can destroy your liver in a day or so.

Just another reason to see a doctor, and take advice from strangers with a grain of salt.

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