What is paracetamol elixir?

Question

What actually is the ELIXIR aspect of this? Is it just that its given as a solution?

Any idea's anyone?

Thanks

Answer 1

Acetaminophen, which is another name for paracetamol, is sold under the brand name Tylenol.  It is a widely-used analgesic and antipyretic. Derived from coal tar, it is the active metabolite of phenacetin, but unlike phenacetin, paracetamol has not been shown to be carcinogenic in any way.  Paracetamol is commonly administered in tablet, liquid suspension, suppository, intravenous, or intramuscular form. The liquid suspension is Paracetamol elixir. In the US this is usually referred to as Tylenol Liquid.

Answer 2

Apparently it is a dangerous substance.  It seems to be for pain in infants and children, but the lines I cited below show that it contains diethylene glycol and causes kidney failure and death.  I don't find anything relating this to Tylenol, either by searching for paracetamol elixir or for Tylenol liquid.  OK, I looked for just paracetamol and found that the base medicine is acetominophen.  It appears that the elixir is different from Tylenol liquid in that it contains diethylene glycol,which is identified as the substance causing the renal failures.  I would be suspicious of anything called an elixir, anyway.  

The strange thing is, there are still a number of sites advertising it, even though the referenced site says there is a government ban on it.  I guess they are still able to sell it in countries that haven't banned it.  I definitely wouldn't take it or let my children take it.

Fatal renal failure caused by diethylene glycol in paracetamol ...In the 12 months after a government ban on the sale of paracetamol elixir, new cases of renal failure decreased by 54%, and cases of unexplained renal ...

bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstra... - Similar pages

Fatal renal failure caused by diethylene glycol in paracetamol ...Conclusion: Paracetamol elixirs with diethylene glycol as a diluent were ... Paracetamol elixir was identified as the medicine most commonly taken before ...

bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/3...

Answer 3

an elixir is a solution wherein the drug (paracetamol) is dissolved in some concentration of alcohol