Pharmacists have issued an urgent warning about paracetamol, one of the world's most common painkillers, linking it to potentially fatal liver damage. While generally safe at recommended doses, even a slight excess can have dangerous consequences.
Dipa Kamdar, senior lecturer in pharmacy practice at Kingston University, warned that taking just a few pills over the recommended amount could cause 'extremely dangerous' harm to the liver. Paracetamol is used for headaches, muscle pain, and fever, but its overuse can lead to cirrhosis or liver failure.
When paracetamol is broken down by the liver, it produces a toxic by-product called NAPQI. Normally neutralised by glutathione, an overdose depletes this protective substance, allowing NAPQI to attack liver cells. This can result in acute liver failure, which can be fatal.
Liver disease kills more than 11,000 people in the UK each year, with deaths quadrupling over the past five decades, according to The British Liver Trust. Kamdar noted that early symptoms like fatigue or nausea are often overlooked, while jaundice is a more obvious sign of advanced damage.
Honorary senior research fellow at the University of Oxford, Andrew Moore, added that paracetamol can cause liver failure even at standard doses, though the risk is about one in a million. Experts advise sticking to recommended doses and avoiding combining paracetamol with alcohol.
