How come when i took 30paracetamols i only did sick? and when som1 else took 6 over the daily amount he died?

Question

How come when i took 30paracetamols i only did sick? and when som1 else took 6 over the daily amount he died?

Answer 1

Because it's not the paracetamol itself that does the damage, it's a breakdown product (a 'metabolite'), that is made in your body that causes the problem. When you take paracetamol, your liver processes it and excretes it. But this uses up the liver's resources of a substance called glutathione. Some people have a lot more glutathione than others - this might depend on how well nourished a person is, etc. Only when the glutathione runs out does the toxic breakdown product build up and the damage starts.

The effects of paracetamol also depend on how long it was taken for - e.g. someone taking a bit more than the daily dose over a period of a couple of weeks could totally wreck their liver, while a large dose all at once might not. It also depends what else is taken with the paracetamol - alcohol makes it much more risky. Generally it is very hard to predict the effect.

One thing you should be aware of - even if someone takes a massive overdose, not much happens for a couple of days - they just feel a bit sick. It can take a few days for the liver damage to develop and then things get really start to get painful and horrible. It is absolutely the most horrible thing to take an overdose of!

http://www.samaritans.org/

Answer 2

Because God protects fools and babies.