Although we are very familiar with this drug, many of us even carry it around in handbags and purses, it can also be a very deadly poison when used wrongly. As a matter of fact, it can kill you in as little as 72 hours. So this is not a matter of ‘ordinary kparasitamo’.

●As little as 10-15 grams (equal to 20-30 tablets) of paracetamol taken within 24 hours may cause severe hepatocellular necrosis and renal tubular necrosis (in short, kidneys and liver fit shut down like Toshiba laptop…lol).

●Nausea and vomiting are the only early symptoms, and many may not even be aware. Without prompt medical attention, there can be irreversible liver damage within a few days, followed by right chest pain, encephalopathy (brain disease), haemorrhage (bleeding), cerebral oedema and finally, DEATH.

●So, even if you do not see the signs early enough but you suspect someone has overdosed, whisk to the hospital immediately.

●Paracetamol (proper name is ACETAMINOPHEN or para-acetylaminophenol) but its brand names like Panadol, Tylenol (USA), Aminofen and Crocin (India) are more popular. Paracetamol is approved for reducing fever in people of all ages and is also an excellent analgesic.

●Paracetamol overdose results in more calls to poison control centers in the US than overdose of any other pharmacological substance, accounting for more than 100,000 calls, as well as 56,000 emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations, and 458 deaths due to acute liver failure per year.

●Many individuals with paracetamol toxicity may have no symptoms at all in the first 24 hours following overdose, and is even worse when the person is fasting possibly because of depletion of glutathione reserves in the liver.

●Paracetamol toxicity is the foremost cause of acute liver failure in the Western world, and accounts for most drug overdoses in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

AND PLEASE NOTE: In rare individuals, paracetamol toxicity can result from normal use especially in those with liver problems and whose metabolic systems may not be powerful enough to break down paracetamol which is actually a form of poison.

Well, even though I am trusting you not to swallow a packet of paracetamol (na Tom Tom?), those kids may want to do something EXTRAordinary with Panadol EXTRA…lol. Please, always keep away all drugs from the reach of children, even ‘ordinary’ paracetamol. Thanks.

REFERENCES- The British National Formulary, Hepatology (Official Journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases), British Medical Journal (BMJ), Wikimedia Commons, The American Journal of Gastroenterology and The Medical Journal of Australia.

.
http://www..com/when-paracetamol-can-kill-you/
____

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.

@op, thanks a million.

Too much of anything is bad!
And come to think of it, we are very used to using paracetamol, even when one only need to relax, its paracetamol, paracetamol.
Many people don't realise that using drugs that aren't prescibed by doctors is also DRUG ABUSE.
May God help us all.