Does drinking too much wine give you a headache?
Or maybe your old shoulder tension is coming back.
What is your occupation? There’s a good chance you’ll have the faithful white pill lurking in your medicine cabinet.
Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is the go-to painkiller mainly because it is cheap, safe and considered to be effective.
200 million packets are bought over the counter in the UK each year. That’s not surprising, given that some pharmacies sell them for as low as 49p for a pack of 16.
Official NHS figures show that in England alone GPs prescribed paracetamol on 14.8 million occasions last year.
But just how safe is Britain’s most popular painkiller really?
Recent research published in Arthritis care and researchinvestigated the effects of paracetamol in adults aged over 65 and found a worrying link between regular use and serious health problems.
Scientists at the University of Nottingham analyzed six months of health records of more than 180,000 people who were repeatedly prescribed the drug and nearly 400,000 who were not prescribed it.
They found that people who took paracetamol were at increased risk of a range of complications, including bleeding from peptic ulcers, lower gastrointestinal bleeding, heart failure and chronic kidney disease.
In fact, the risk of bleeding from peptic ulcers increased by 24% and bleeding from the lower gastrointestinal tract by 36%.
Meanwhile, those who took painkillers were 9% more likely to suffer from heart failure than those who did not take them.
According to the NHS, paracetamol “is unlikely to cause side effects” and is safe to take regularly “for many years”.
that is the first choice painkillers For those who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
not safe for anyone
However, it is already known that paracetamol can be dangerous for certain people.
The NHS warns that standard doses may be too high for people weighing less than 50kg (8 stone).
And the drug “may not be suitable” for people with liver or kidney problems.
It’s also not safe for people who regularly drink more than 14 units of alcohol (6 medium glasses of wine) per week, as alcohol is taxing on the liver.
But the average Brit guzzles 18 units a week (according to Alcohol changes in the UK), this could be the case for millions of us.
The new research does not prove that paracetamol is the cause of these health problems, but suggests that the potential harms may outweigh the benefits for certain people.
Study author Professor Weiya Zhang said: “Further research is needed to confirm our findings, but given the minimal analgesic effect of paracetamol, it may be useful as a first-line treatment for long-term conditions such as osteoarthritis in older people.” The use of paracetamol as an analgesic of choice currently requires further research.” People need to be carefully considered. ”
Can I take ibuprofen and paracetamol together?
If paracetamol is the UK’s first port of call, ibuprofen is a close second.
Ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, works slightly differently than paracetamol to reduce inflammation.
The NHS says it may be used in conjunction with paracetamol.
The NHS says: “It is safe to take paracetamol with other types of painkillers that do not contain paracetamol, such as ibuprofen, aspirin and codeine.”
However, do not take paracetamol with other medicines containing paracetamol.
