Unable to buy paracetamol what to do?

[TickTockTickTockT]

I only want x1 box just in case, or for just general use. Nowhere has any & I literally have none.

What else can you take to reduce fever?

Luckily I have calpol for my DS.

But if we catch COVID19 & have a rocket fever we’re fucked. There’s none anywhere

I don’t think that’s Superdrug’s fault then. There have been huge issues with people buying paracetamol so you were lucky to get that.

Fever is not caused by the virus, fever is caused by your body responding to the virus by increasing the body to the best temperature for your immune system to effectively fight it.

If you find paracetamol I would buy it to have it for a very extreme fevee but as an otherwise healthy adult I wouldn't be treating a fever that could be covid-19 unless it gets over 40c

Decreasing a low to medium grade fever could make you more ill in the long run.

Oddboots - can you disclose your qualification to be doling out medical advice?

Oddbods is correct, you can find that info anywhere.

Sorry Oddboots not Oddbods

Yep, that info is everywhere. Dr John Campbell on YouTube for example.
Obviously it's important to be a bit more watchful of kids' high temperatures but for adults, a bit of a temperature is the immune system at work.

FWIW the advice is that in most cases it's best not to treat the fever - it's there to fight the infection, let it do it's job.

www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/fever-in-adults

@dizzycatdance2

Lemsip contains paracetamol.

www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/617/smpc

When you can't get Calpol pharmacies normally have a 'paracetamol oral suspension' it's basically a generic calpol.

Pharmacists also often stock paracetamol suppositories.

Just keep trying your chemist. Ours had none when I tried, but did an hour later when DH went in.

Paracetamol alleviates the symptoms of fever without interfering with the body's immune response. That's why it is being recommended and not ibuprofen or aspirin, as they are anti-inflammatories and work in a different way.

Have you tried local garages, nobody ever thinks of them.

On the 18 th March I posted on this thread about trying a garage shop.

DP asked at the pharmacy when he was picking up his latest prescription and they dispensed some for him for next to nothing.

Why is Panadol so restricted in the UK? Here in Australia you can buy 100 pack of generic paracetamol for $2 AUD (roughly £1), obviously at the moment we have a shortage too.

And of course it's reasonable to keep paracetamol on hand, it's a basic affordable medical supply. Same as keeping Band-Aids on hand.

I wondered the same, Luciey. I'm in the US, and I have a bottle of acetaminophen I bought a couple of months ago, and it's 500 caplets. A bottle of 32 isn't going to last very long if a couple people in the house get sick.

I also agree, we always have acetaminophen and ibuprofen on hand, in both adult and children's versions.

@Luciey because so many people overdose on them. They don't have any kind of "high" at all but are fucking impressive at killing people or at least destroying their liver. So instead of one place selling the person enough to do that, they make them go to 2 or 3 shops instead. I don't think it deters people, it just irritates everybody who has to buy more than that, In France they sell in 1000mg/1g tablets and ours are 500mg tablets. So we get to buy less of them and take less as a dose

They are still really cheap 22-40p a box

All the lemsip and own brand equivalents I have here contain paracetamol, as do the cold and flu capsules we have. ( I don’t know if that’s standard or fluke.)

Our local independent pharmacy was last week selling boxes of 50 paracetamol over the counter to customers who asked, keeping a ledger of who had had their allocation (strictly one box each) and writing the customer names on the label, prescription style. I don’t know if that is a widespread thing.

Other than that, you could look for some cocodamol (only the lowest strength is sold over the counter, which contains paracetamol and a small amount of codeine). That might be handy in extremis.

Why is Panadol so restricted in the UK? Here in Australia you can buy 100 pack of generic paracetamol for $2 AUD (roughly £1), obviously at the moment we have a shortage too.-

It is a largely pointless restriction brought in 15- 20 years to combat suicide attempts.

Obviously if you’re determined (either to make a suicide attempt or simply to gather enough emergency supply for a family), you just troll round several shops buying small boxes in each. Not great in a pandemic.

Besides which, of you go to a pharmacy counter and explain you have chronic back pain or whatever, they will sell you larger boxes of between 40-100 tablets (approx) of either paracetamol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen anyway.

So it’s easily circumvented. At least it is when supply is there.

Actually, statistically, paracetamol regulations do reduce suicides.

People find it ridiculous that it does, but you have to consider the mindset that prompts suicide- a severely depressed one. People who are that depressed struggle with motivation, and having to go to 2 or 3 shops is actually enough to constitute a barrier. The other thing is that paracetamol overdose is perceived as a good way to die. So if it's not available as a method, this group of people don't pick another method.

When people deliberately decide to overdose on paracetamol, it tends to be an impulsive decision. Tragically, this is particularly the case with teenagers. Putting a delay in the way like this, gives them time to change their minds.

www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f403

Tragically, this is particularly the case with teenagers. Putting a delay in the way like this, gives them time to change their minds.

Fair enough. The thought of depressed teenagers being the target did cross my mind even as I was being contemptuous about it.

Maybe an older age limit or proof of parenthood could be introduced to allow you to buy larger quantities. It really is an issue when you’re head of a household trying to get emergency supplies.

Depressed teenagers are a prime target. It's a time of huge moodswings.

It is an issue for households trying to prepare for all eventualities, but on the other hand, I wince at the stockpiles of paracetamol people are gathering for their families. They probably are all certain no-one in the houshold would ever try to take their own lives, but statistically, some of them are going to be wrong.

This is going to be a very difficult time, mentally, for all of us. It's not a time to have a freely accessible mountain of paracetamol. Hide the boxes you don't need right now away.