Is it dangerous if i take paracetamol very often?

Question

i get head ache very often, so i go for pain relievers like paracetamol. two days back i took 4 paracetamol, today i feel pain at the chest n also experiencing short breath? is it alarming? my liver damaged already?

Answer 1

Any time you have chest pain and shortness of breath, you have to be concerned about a possible heart attack. Especially if the pain begins on exertion and stops when you sit down and relax. However, those symptoms would not be caused by taking the amount of paracetamol you described.

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) *can* be toxic to your liver in large amounts, but is usually safe if you follow that packaging guidelines on the bottle. Generally, it's a non-issue if you only take paracetamol once in a while, but if you take it chronically, the following is a good rule of thumb:

In healthy, non-drinking patients, non-alcoholic patients, a good rule of thumb is 4 grams or less per day. If you're taking standard strength (325mg) that's about 12 tablets. If you're taking extra-strength (500mg) that's 8 tablets.

For patients who consume and average of 2+ drinks per day, you want to limit your intake to 2 grams or less per day. This comes out to be 6 or 4 tablets of the doses described above. However, it's probably safest just to avoid paracetamol altogether if you fall into this category. Consider taking ibuprofen instead.

Of course, chronic headaches can be a sign of some underlying problem such as stress, sinus infection, allergies, high blood pressure. I'd suggest seeing your doctor about the issue as soon as convenient.

Answer 2

In general I agree with the pharmacist above except that maximal doses for more than 10 days in a row have been fatal.

Also, shortness of breath with chest pains are strong indications to see a doctor.

Answer 3

How many mgs per paracetamol?  Toxic levels are above 10 grams or 200 mg/kg, which ever is lower.  Regardless, chest pain and shortness of breath are reasons to seek immediate medical attention