UK households who have packets of paracetamol in cupboards 'warned'
A warning has been issued to UK households with packets of paracetamol in their homes. An urgent warning has been issued for people taking paracetamol over potential health risks, including internal bleeding and chronic kidney disease.
University of Nottingham analysis researcheser 500,000 adults aged 65 and above for two decades. Medics, found a "dose-dependent" relationship between paracetamol use and serious health issues, including stomach ulcers, heart failure, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease.
The study revealed those prescribed paracetamol twice within six months are at a particularly high risk of complications. The author of the new study, Professor Weiya Zhang, epidemiologist at the National Institute for Health and Care Research Biomedical Research Centre at the University of Nottingham, said patients should 'carefully consider' whether or not to take the medication often.
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"The use of paracetamol as a first line pain killer for long-term conditions such as osteoarthritis in older people needs to be carefully considered," he said. Dr Kenneth Simpson, liver disease specialist at Edinburgh University, previously told MailOnline that staggered overdoses can occur when people have pain and repeatedly take a little more paracetamol than they should.
He said: "They haven’t taken the sort of one-off massive overdoses taken by people who try to commit suicide, but over time the damage builds up and the effect can be fatal. They are often taking paracetamol for pain and they don’t keep track of how much they’ve consumed over a few days."
Current NHS guidance warns not to take more than eight tablets in a 24-hour period. Experts have previously warned that it's 'too easy' to overdose on the painkiller, as many people combined different products that contain paracetamol.
Cold and flu sufferers are among those who rely on the white tablets - and experts have warned they could lose track of the dosage.