Millions
of people see the paracetamol as a safe drug to cure fever, flu and body aches.
But, recent research has revealed the increased risk of conditions such as
stroke, liver damage, renal failure and gastrointestinal bleeding after taking
overdose of paracetamol. Packets of paracetamol in India
can be bought easily from pharmacy shops and are used by millions of families daily
to fight common health complaints.
It
is important that doctors should prescribe alternative medicines to avoid the
side effects of long term use of paracetamol. Expert says that there is no
reason for panic, but public should be careful about the side effects when
taking it for long time and physicians should consider cautiously what substitute
drugs they can prescribe to their patients who are suffering from fever or flu.
Paracetamol,
the most commonly used drug (over-the-counter and prescription drug) in the
world that has pain-killing or analgesic properties, has been specifically questioned
in treating crippling condition osteoarthritis and acute lower back pain. It should
be remembered by everyone who takes paracetamol in India, for whatever
purpose, should take it as infrequently or as low a dose as possible and for
the smallest time possible.
Researchers
have found a correlation among an improved relative rate of mortality and
increasing doses of paracetamol by evaluating patients who had been prescribed
it and those who had not. Few showed a relation between higher risk of heart problems
and paracetamol, whereas another shows an increased rate of stomach complaints after
taking large doses of the painkiller.
