Beware of Excess Dose, Paracetamol

Paracetamol

Research indicates that millions of people around the world may be at risk of overdosing paracetamol. The use of this most popular pain reliever that is inappropriate to the medicine advice does not only pose a risk of overdose, but also damage to the liver. 

Assessment of the experts from Northwestern University in Chicago U.S. declared, nearly 25 percent of adults erred in taking paracetamol. Many of the patients taking these medicines exceed the recommended dose within 24 hours.

Doctor's recommendation for the maximum dose of taking paracetamol is eight tablets 500 mg a day. The maximum  is only two tablets in every four hours. When exceeding the set limit, one of the consequences is an overdose that causes liver damage and fluid accumulation in the brain which can be fatal.

In a report published in Journal of General Internal Medicine online edition, Dr. Michael Wolf conducted a study on the abuse prevalence and the possibility of acetaminophen overdose. Wolf interviewed more than 500 adult patients who went to clinics in several cities in U.S. during September 2009 until March 2011.


The researchers tested how far the patients' understanding about the dose is and their ability to take acetaminophen appropriately. The result was quite surprising. More than a quarter of the patients were at risk of overdosing the painkillers because of exceeding the maximum limit 4 grams in 24 hours. In addition, there were 5 percent of the patients who made fatal mistakes because of taking more than 6 grams of the medicine within 24 hours. While nearly 50 percent of patients were at risk of overdose due to "double-dipping" or taking two types of medicine that contained acetaminophen.

The findings indicate that many consumers do not recognize or distinguish the active ingredient in OTC pain relievers, they also do not listen carefully to the instructions on the medicine labels.