6:40 PM
Anonymous
Taking too much paracetamol in pills and cold remedies could kill you, warn British researchers.
Victims of ‘staggered’ overdoses often fail to realise the amount they are taking could be fatal over a few days, they say.
Experts have also pointed out, however, that many of us will be taking paracetamol or combination remedies containing the drug this winter to combat colds and flu, and that it is a safe and effective painkiller when the correct amount is taken.
A study shows the risk of dying from liver failure is higher from accidental overdose than deliberate suicide attempts.
This is because people report feeling unwell to GPs or accident and emergency departments without knowing the cause, making it difficult to diagnose and treat in time.
In the study, a team led by Dr Kenneth Simpson analysed data from 663 patients who had been admitted to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary between 1992 and 2008 with liver damage caused by paracetamol.
They found 161 people with an average age of 40 had taken a staggered overdose, usually to relieve stomach and back pain, headache or toothache.
Two out of five died from liver failure – a higher fatality rate than recorded for deliberate overdosing, says a report in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
Dr Simpson, of Edinburgh University and the Scottish Liver Transplantation Unit, said staggered overdoses can occur when people have pain and repeatedly take a little more paracetamol than they should.
He said: ‘They haven’t taken the sort of one-off massive overdoses taken by people who try to commit suicide, but over time the damage builds up and the effect can be fatal.
‘They are often taking paracetamol for pain and they don’t keep track of how much they’ve consumed over a few days.
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