THE ESSENTIAL
- Paracetamol is the most consumed analgesic in France, according to Vidal.
- It can be purchased at pharmacies without a prescription.
“To date, there are delays in the supply of oral forms and suppositories of paracetamolassures the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM). According to the data available at this stage, the situation should return to normal at the end of the summer period.”.
There are two main reasons for this situation: supply difficulties and the increase in paracetamol consumption in the context of the seventh wave of Covid-19.
Effective for Covid-19
Indeed, paracetamol is an analgesic drug that can relieve many painful manifestations – including symptoms of Covid-19 – such as headaches, fever, dental or joint pain, flu-like conditions, painful periods, etc It generally acts about twenty minutes after taking it and for four hours.
For adults, the generally recommended maximum dose is one gram per dose, three times a day, at least six hours apart. In the event of non-compliance with this dosage – unless medical advice to the contrary -, the patient is exposed to risks because this drug can be toxic for the liver and have serious consequences, according to the Vidal.
Do not stock
Currently, to limit the risk of shortage and keep control over the quantities, the ANSM recommends that the French take this medicine in moderation, when it is really necessary and above all not to make a preventive stock.
At the same time, the ANSM has also reduced the quantities delivered to pharmacies, according to 20 minutes and recommended that pharmacists limit orders and regulate sales by favoring prescription dispensing.
No impact at the hospital
Mélanie Cachet, deputy director of the ANSM’s inspection department, told Agence France Presse (AFP) that these measures should allow “all patients can have access to the drug“.
In the current state, this tension on paracetamol should not have an impact on the hospital: the ANSM specified that their supply was assured. The pharmaceutical group Sanofi, which produces this drug, meanwhile told AFP that there was “no risk of paracetamol rupture in France”.
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