In the UK, more people would die of this painkiller overdose if it weren’t for an effective antidote at hospitals | Credit: Shutterstock
A UK pharmacist has issued a stern warning about the world’s most popular and most commonly used painkiller. One that many people self-prescribe, unaware of the potential harm they may be causing themselves. A painkiller with which nearly 90,000 people overdose each year in the UK.
The pill in question is safe to take for headaches, muscle pain, and fever, as long as you stick to the recommended amounts, the pharmacist said, according to The Sun.
However, “taking too many of these over-the-counter painkiller pills, even just slightly exceeding the recommended dose, can be extremely dangerous for your liver”, warned Dipa Kamdar, a senior lecturer in pharmacy practice at Kingston University. And then doctors blame alcohol as the main culprit of liver damage. It’s easy for them to do, but it is not always the case, according to what Kamdar has just revealed.
“In fact, many everyday habits, often overlooked, can slowly cause damage that may eventually lead to serious conditions such as cirrhosis – permanent scarring of the liver – or liver failure,” the pharmacist wrote in The Conversation.
This can include eating foods high in saturated fat or sugar, as well as smoking or not exercising enough, and, to the point of this article, taking too much paracetamol.
“Despite its remarkable resilience – and even its ability to regenerate – the liver is not indestructible,” Dipa said.
1,000 deaths annually in the UK
“One of the challenges with liver disease is that it can be a silent threat. In its early stages, it may cause only vague symptoms, such as constant fatigue or nausea,” she added. “As damage progresses, more obvious signs may emerge. One of the most recognisable is jaundice, where the skin and the whites of the eyes turn yellow.”
Liver disease kills more than 11,000 people in the UK each year, according to The British Liver Trust.
According to a National Institute of Health study, it is estimated that between 82,000 and 90,000 patients present in the UK each year with paracetamol overdose. Between 150 and 250 deaths occur annually because of abuse of this painkiller.
The study adds that significantly more deaths would occur if it were not “for the highly effective antidote, acetylcysteine (NAC) 12, which has been administered intravenously using the same complex regimen since the 1970s.”
