Little girl almost died after taking 8 paracetamol pills to treat headaches

On December 26, a representative of Cam Khe Regional Medical Center said the patient was admitted to the hospital in a state of dizziness, vomiting a lot, and right lower quadrant pain. Family members said that she had a headache and took 3 500 mg paracetamol pills, but the pain did not ease, so she continued taking 5 more pills, for a total of nearly a pack of pills.

The doctor diagnosed that the patient had overdosed on paracetamol, causing poisoning. The team treated the patient aggressively with antidotes and intravenous fluids. After 5 days, the patient’s condition stabilized.

Paracetamol is a pain reliever and fever reducer widely used without prescription, so the rate of paracetamol poisoning tends to increase rapidly. Doctor Nguyen Duy Long – Department of Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care and Poison Control, said this is a relatively safe drug. However, when used in overdose or at therapeutic doses, it can also cause poisoning in patients with malnutrition, alcoholism, epilepsy treatment, anti-tuberculosis drugs, and liver disease.

Paracetamol poisoning is common in people who use the drug for a long time or combine many drugs containing paracetamol to relieve pain. If not detected and treated promptly, patients can experience serious complications such as acute liver damage, liver failure, blood clotting disorders, multiple organ failure, and in severe cases, it can lead to death.

According to medical recommendations, for adults, the maximum dose of paracetamol should not exceed 3.5-4 g in 24 hours, with doses spaced 4 to 6 hours apart. With the popular 500 mg tablet form, the total safe dose is equivalent to 4-6 tablets per day. Using more than this amount, especially over a short period of time, is considered an overdose.

In children, the dose of paracetamol is not calculated by the number of tablets but by weight. Children should take a dose of 10-15 mg/kg each time, the total dose in 24 hours should not exceed 50-70 mg/kg. To make it easier to take, children’s medicine is usually powder mixed with water, packaged in 80 mg, 150 mg, 250 mg. Parents need to calculate the child’s weight to mix the appropriate amount of medicine with about 30 ml of warm water for the child to drink. In case the child cannot drink, rectal tablets can be used. Each time you give medicine to your child, spaced at least 5-6 hours apart.

Dr. Long advises not to arbitrarily use pain relievers or fever reducers in excessive or prolonged doses, and only use the drugs according to the correct dosage, distance and instructions from the pharmacist or medical staff. Also do not combine multiple drugs containing the same active ingredient paracetamol. When there are unusual symptoms, you need to go to a medical facility for timely examination.

For children, parents need to proactively explain to children to only take medicine with adult consent, give specific instructions on dosage, interval between doses, and administer medication under adult control. Store drugs safely, avoid confusion between drugs with the same active ingredient.