Do you Know How Paracetamol Cause Liver damage Here is SomeFacts

Yes you read it right. Even taking one or two more tablets than recommended can cause serious liver damage and possibly death.

Paracetamol overdose is one of the leading causes of liver failure.

Paracetamol is used commonly worldwide for fever, pain particularly headache without Doctor’s prescription and Pharmacist advice. Due to its unique mechanism of action and quick relief Paracetamol is the only medicine used worldwide for Fever.

“Daily paracetamol could raise the risk of heart attacks, stroke and early death,” the Mail Online reports.

How does Paracetamol harm you?

Paracetamol is usually taken by mouth and is available in various ways, such as in tablet, caplet, soluble and liquid forms. They will pass to the stomach and intestine into the body and lead to pain relief and lowering of a high temperature (fever). After this, paracetamol is inactivated before being removed from the body. About 20% of the medicine is processed in the intestinal wall and the remainder in the liver. As a result a small amount of a toxic compound (n-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine, or NAPQI) is formed in the liver but is quickly detoxified by a substance called glutathione. However in overdose the stores of glutathione can be depleted so that there isn’t enough to remove the increased amounts of NAPQI. The NAPQI can then build up and damage the liver.

Over 150 people die each year as a result of a paracetamol overdose.

Symptoms of over dose

There may be no symptoms for the first day. A feeling of sickness (nausea) and being sick (vomiting) may occur a few hours after taking the overdose. After 24 hours there may be pain under the ribs on the right side (where the liver is) and there may be yellowing of the whites of the eyes and the skin (jaundice). Other features include:

• The brain can also be affected with confusion and disorientation (called encephalopathy).
• The kidneys can also be affected with a reduction in urine, and kidney failure can occur.
• Low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) may occur.
• There may be a build-up of acid in the blood, which can cause the patient to breathe faster.
• There may also be features of depression but not always.