November 20, 2009, 06:00:00AM. By Charles Benson

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Vancouver, B.C.: A new study could make parents rethink how they treat mild pain in their children, as an article in the November issue of the peer-reviewed medical journal Chest suggests that acetaminophen -- the active ingredient in popular over-the-counter medications like Children's Tylenol -- may increase the risk of asthma in users.

The report gathered data from 19 studies representing more than 425,000 patients to compare the risk of asthma or wheezing with exposure to acetaminophen. The report's findings verify that children using the pain medication for one year prior to the survey were 60 percent more likely to develop asthma.

Asthma is a potentially fatal inflammatory disorder of the airways that can cause wheezing, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest and severe coughing.

Pregnant mothers using the medication also showed an increased risk of passing asthma to their unborn child, while typical adults using acetaminophen were 75 percent more likely to develop symptoms than those who did not.

According to the Vancouver Sun, Tylenol sales total more than $1 billion annually, and the pain reliever has been a common medication in North America for over 60 years.

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