DD's friend has just posted on Facebook that he's had 3 lemsips in 3 hours - how dangerous is it?

[RustyBear]

I'm more concerned about it because I know he's a heavy drinker, so I'm worried that his liver might not cope.

I've googled, but the advice is very conflicting.

I've advised him to try drinking a lot of water and to ring NHS Direct, but I'm not sure how seriously he'll take it and he may give up on NHS Direct if they take a while to answer - should I be trying to get him worried so he'll do something, or is it not really a problem?

Depends which sort. The Max ones are double the paracetemol content of the ordinary sort IIRC, so three 'ordinary', whil silly, is probably going to be OK. Three Max on the other hand sounds like bad news.

AFAIK, no-one should be taking any more than 1000mg of paracetamol (maximum dose for an adult) in any 4hr period. IIRC, in ordinary lemsip I have not seen any less than 500mg paracetamol and Max Strength usually has 1000mg, so, if he's had 3 normal lemsip, he's still over the max dose and should contact NHS Direct.

If he's had 3 Max Strength sachets, he should make an appointment to see his GP ASAP, since he'll be 3X the recommended dose and a heavy drinker.

Very dangerous, even a small overdose of paracetamol can be fatal. I have worked on many acute admission wards & seen the effects of paracetamol overdose.

Very dangerous even a small overdose of paracetamol can be serious. I have worked on an acute admission ward and seen the effects.

Thanks, both of you - I have posted on his FB and spoken to DD (she's at uni) - he will probably listen to her more than he will to me....