Paracetamol Overdose can Occur Easily In Selenium Deficiency
People low on selenium are at risk of paracetamol overdose, even when they follow dosage recommendations, according to research involving the University of Bath in the UK.
People low on selenium are at risk of paracetamol overdose, even when they follow dosage recommendations, according to research involving the University of Bath in the UK.
‘When overdosed, paracetamol can cause severe poisoning, even resulting in liver failure with fatal outcomes or the need for liver transplantation.
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It is a popular source of pain relief. The recommended maximum daily dosage is 4,000 milligrams (4 grams) for adults, which equates to a maximum of four of the high-dose tablets or eight of the lower-dose tablets. "It is a very safe drug, but only for short-term pain relief and as long as the daily dosage does not go above the recommended range," says Andrea Burden, Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology at ETH Zurich.
"One problem with paracetamol is that it is not effective for all patients or against all forms of pain," Burden explains. "If the drug doesn't help to ease someone's symptoms, they may be tempted to increase the dosage without consulting a medical professional. That's the real problem," she says. This is also where the size of the tablets comes into play. It's very easy to exceed the maximum daily dosage by taking just a few extra of the 1,000 milligram tablets, whereas, with the lower-dose 500 milligram tablets, the risk of accidental overdose isn't as great,” Burden explains.
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The scientists observed that the 1,000-milligram tablets had rapidly grown in popularity from the sales data since their introduction.
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Today, sales of the 1,000-milligram tablets are ten times those of the 500-milligram ones.
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Quiz on Painkillers
The analgesics you are taking may cause debilitating side effects. Take this quiz on painkillers, know your NSAIDs and opioids.
The analgesics you are taking may cause debilitating side effects. Take this quiz on painkillers, know your NSAIDs and opioids.
"On that basis, we can conclude that the increased number of poisoning cases is associated with the availability of the 1,000 milligram tablets," says Stefan Weiler, co-author of the study and scientific director of Tox Info Suisse. In the following years, the number of poisoning cases continued to increase, to 1188 in 2018.
Paracetamol is not suitable for chronic pain management; there is little need to have pack-sizes of 40 or 100 tablets.
Experts said physicians should prescribe the lower 500-milligram dose, which can be dose adjusted to reach the 1,000 milligrams by taking two tablets when necessary.
Source-Medindia
