To not realise just how dangerous paracetamol is?

[HarshingMyMellow]

My friend is currently in hospital after taking an accidental overdose of paracetamol.

I say 'accidental', she was taking more than she should because she had a killer toothache but not huge amounts.
I think she took around 8 doses in a day instead of 4 and the repercussions aren't pretty.

I didn't realise a basic, widely available drug was so toxic.

he told me that paracetamol is such a safe drug that I could take it every day for the rest of my life with no ill effects.

Technically. But there are a lot of caveats - low body weight, compromised liver function, conmorbities etc.

I’m not a medic but I am a scientist and I’d be unhappy taking paracetamol long term. Lowest dose possible for least time possible is always my goal.

Can I also derail in the interests of an informative thread to say about the 4 doses in 24 hours. As a paeds nurse it's a popular misconception that after midnight is a new day and therefore the 4 doses can start again.

So if you gave the first dose at 10:00, subsequent doses can be given every 4-6 hours but not exceeding 4, if 4 given you cannot give paracetamol again until 10:00 the following day.

Sorry if that sounded hugely patronising or "know all" it's just seen so often !
Protect the livers people !

I'm so sorry about your friend - is she going to be OK?

Paracetamol is one of those drugs that we think is safe becauseit's so available and so cheap, but it needs to be treated with respect.

Similar here, ElMarinero. I was worried about the amount DD was having when she had a few weeks of teething/MMR side effects/ear infection. The lovely reassuring GP told me there was no harm in her having it every day while she needed it, as long as I stuck to the safe dose. She just had a bad run of illnesses for a little while. These days I can't remember when she last had calpol.

I think the key here is sticking to the dose, but there seems to be a lot of scaremongering going on here surrounding paracetamol in general. It's an incredibly safe drug, if you read the leaflet and don't abuse it. Things like taking a lemsip and then taking paracetamol is obviously a very daft thing to do, but it doesn't make the drug unsafe.

If you're forgetful like me, have a few chronic pain diseases/conditions and need very regular pain relief to take the edge off and cope. Then have a dosette box with daily boxes. I fill mine up with the maximum dose of paracetamol, bufren and codeine so I never take too much. I'd got to a stage where I couldn't remember if I'd taken a pain killer so for my own safety this is how I cope.

Paracetamol when used properly is a very safe drug. Don't be frightened of using it for yourself, or for your children. Remember it's one of the very few things which is recommended in pregnancy.

If you follow the rules you won't overdose. The issue is mixing paracetamol with other things which also contain paracetamol - cold remedies and the suchlike which makes overdosing easy. Agree with keeping a chart - I did this with my daughter when she had her tonsils out and needed pain relief reguarly, we'd write N for nurofen or C for calpol so we could keep track of what she'd had.

There are warnings about dose on all packets but people generally don't read them.

“I am absolutely staggered that so many posters don't understand how dangerous paracetamol is in overdose”

Same here TarragonChicken. I thought it was common knowledge.

OftenHangry which pain killers would you suggest? A lot of people can’t take NSAIDS, which would rule out Ibuprofen and Aspirin.

Clearly there needs to be better labelling on all products containing paracetamol, given the sheer amount of ignorance on this thread.

My dp has chronic nerve damage and back pain. Since his accident 10 years ago he has been on everything from anti epilepsy drugs to opiates, used up all the anti inflammatories (naproxen did for his gallbladder, that was a fun year, not).

Like sweetkitty he now takes 4 tramadol and 4 doses of paracetamol every 24 hours. It allows him to live. Anything stronger takes the pain away, but renders him incapable of working and thinking straight.

I worry he takes too much paracetamol, hate having it in the house, but I suppose luckily for him he's built like a brick shit house (100kg+) with the consitution of an ox, despite that split second crunch that changed his life.

I knew about paracetamol overdose, as it was the "go to" for girls wanting to get out of school in the early 90's, take a packet of paracetamol, get taken to hospital. It still makes me feel a bit sick thinking of the damage those silly girls (my peers) were doing. We endured a lot of lectures at high school about it, and thats 20+ years ago.

Tbh I'm surprised that people don't know that paracetemol can be so dangerous.

If paracetamol and iboprufen not enough you can add codeine. Since you can't buy codeine alone it will have either paracetamol or ibuprofen in it (at different doses so watch that). Knock off the one you don't now need.
All teenagers, older children and anyone depressed should be told not to overdose, accidentally or deliberately, on paracetamol. It's a long drawn out painful horrible death, and high risk of long term liver damage if you survive.

I wish there was a HUGE clear warning on all packs or bottles of calpol, so parents would stop using it as a sweet - generously giving a dose for the most ridiculous reason.

So many people do not realise how dangerous it can be, adults packs should have big red warnings too. You can pop a couple of packs in your shopping at the tills of your local supermarkets, it's not that obvious that is dangerous, or not obvious to everyone.

there seems to be a lot of scaremongering going on here surrounding paracetamol in general.

there's no scaremongering, just a reminder that it's a medicine and it must be used very carefully. The fact that it's given to children, pregnant women and anyone does not mean it's totally harmless and risk free.

@CoffeeIsNotEnough yes, we get that you've been in a lot of pain and haven't taken anything above the stated dose.

If only everyone was like you, eh?

She was suffering from an abscess, was on antibiotics to calm the raging infection before she could have treatment and was at the end of her tether with the amount of pain she was in.

The point of this thread was to talk about how dangerous paracetamol was, at no point did I ask for reassurance for me or her.

My friend is doing ok. She's hooked up to drips and the such and for now they're keeping an eye on her.

No one has mentioned a slow, painful death yet.

Hope your friend is ok OP.

My GP once gave me a very stern lecture on the possible effects of taking too much paracetamol, and that “too much” meant five doses a day instead of 4. I had chronic pain and it was all I could take. If the GP hadn’t told me that I could easily have taken more because, hey, it’s OTC, it’s cheap, it can’t be tha bad, right? And I was in so much pain.

I know people who go round different shops on the same day to get more and think they’re being smart and clever doing it because they’re cheating the system. I think there should be much more work put into educating people as to why you’re not allowed to buy lots of it, it’s not to inconvenience you, there is a real serious reason.

I have told my DC from a young age about the dangers of paracetamol - and especially the fact that it doesn't kill you immediately but can do so a while later (just like some toxic mushrooms).

Haven't read whole thread but I've always been super careful with it with the children too. My two are very skinny and if dosed by the age recommendations would be considerably over the limit for most of the years in the range. I've always used it by dosing by weight which for most of the time has meant a 25% lower dose.

It's lethal and a very nasty way to die.

@Missingstreetlife do you know why you can't buy codeine over the counter on its own? I have a prescription for it as I take large ( signed off by a surgeon) amounts. Am just curious.

One of my friends works with death statistics - he cannot tell you enough just how dangerous painkillers are and how careful you need to be. It's a huge killer

codeine is a controlled drug, an opioid.
in otc co-codamol the codeine dosis is tiny, just enough to give a small effect but small enough to be unlikely to cause addiction issues.

I do think there needs to be much more education around the dangers of paracetamol. Most people won't assume that a medication that can be bought over the counter for 25p for 16 500mg tablets has the potential to cause serious harm or kill you if you take a bit too much. It seems more benign than it is because it is cheap and easily available.

I work in a pharmacy. EVERY customer who buys anything containing pain killers is warned of the maximum dosage and, in the case of paracetamol, especially not to take it with anything else that contains paracetamol. We ALWAYS point out that things like lemsip have paracetamol. If people are using a combination of painkillers then we tell them how to use them safely and effectively.

So many people just look bored and roll their eyes while being told this, and yet this thread shows how many people are ignorant of the dangers :o

o, that was meant to be a

do you know why you can't buy codeine over the counter on its own? I have a prescription for it as I take large ( signed off by a surgeon) amounts. Am just curious.

Because it’s addictive and it can be used as a base ingredient to cook up other drugs as well - meth for example.
The otc cocodamol formulation with paracetamol is partly to do with restricting the amount a person will take in a day.