Russia – Many medicines, including children’s medicines, contain paracetamol, and they are all sold without a prescription. Therefore, poisoning with this drug is a widespread phenomenon.
Dr. Yekaterina Kashukh, a gastroenterologist, reveals in an interview with the newspaper “Izvestia” how paracetamol affects the body’s work and what are the consequences of taking an overdose of it.
According to her, paracetamol is one of the most common fever-reducing drugs and painkillers that can be easily obtained. It is included in the World Health Organization’s list of essential and vital medicines. Paracetamol actually relieves pain and reduces fever effectively. But if you exceed the recommended dose, it becomes toxic to the liver.
She says: “The drug is transformed in the body, under the influence of enzymes, into a toxic metabolite.” The liver can effectively neutralize it. But when a large dose of the drug is taken, the liver’s ability to break down this toxic substance is depleted, which begins to destroy liver cells.”
The doctor indicates that the safe dose for adults and children over the age of 12 is 4 grams per day, not to exceed 500 mg at a time. It is calculated for children according to their weight, as the daily dose should not exceed 60 mg per 1 kg of body. Therefore, you must read the instructions attached to the medication carefully and not exceed the dose specified therein. If the child’s temperature does not decrease, the doctor should be called, and not the dose should be increased.
It indicates that eating 7.5 grams per day can cause poisoning in an adult. The acute toxic dose for children is more than 200 mg/kg body weight. Exceeding it may lead to severe liver failure.
According to her, European and American statistics indicate that 50 percent of cases of liver damage caused by medications are an overdose of paracetamol.
Symptoms of acute paracetamol poisoning are nausea, vomiting, pain in the upper right abdomen, and kidney pain. In some cases, acute liver failure, which is characterized by weakness, impaired consciousness, and yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. Therefore, in the case of severe paracetamol poisoning, the injured person needs prompt medical care, because it is due to liver damage, and it can also lead to the failure of many organs in the body.
She says: “When the first signs of paracetamol poisoning appear, especially in a child, an ambulance must be called immediately. The compound acetylcysteine is used to treat this condition, which is injected intravenously or taken in the form of tablets. This compound reduces the toxicity of paracetamol and weakens its effect on the liver. This antidote is most effective in the first eight hours after poisoning.
Source: “Izvestia” newspaper
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2024-03-28 08:48:50