The National Institutes of Health predict this year's flu season could be a rough one.
Last year, Americans reportedly spent nearly $6 billion on remedies for runny noses and sore throats, but some over-the-counter medications carry their own risks. High doses of acetaminophen send nearly 60,000 people to the emergency room each year.
In its January issue, Consumer Reports looks at how to survive this cold and flu season more easily.
Lisa Gill, deputy content editor for the magazine, joined "CBS This Morning" to discuss some of the treatment options you'll find at the pharmacy, common home remedies, and which ones you need to be careful when using.
"We did this report because we found in a national survey and also secret shoppers that we sent out across the country to pharmacies, there are too many products and what's [in] those products is very confusing, and chief among them is acetaminophen," Gill said. Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in Tylenol and is also found in hundreds of other drugstore products.
"It's a really safe drug when you take it in the maximum daily dose that the FDA tells us – 4,000 milligrams. But the surprising thing about it is just a little more than that and it starts to put you at risk for liver toxicity," Gill said.
People sometimes overdose by accident when they take several different medicines that each contain acetaminophen.
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