paracetamol challenge - I am completely at a loss

If this isn't another elaborate troll then whoever encourages someone to do this should be held culpable because paracetamol overdose is one of the worst ways to die.
 
I preferred the charge your iphone in the microwave one :)

Liver failure, and subsequent death is a bloody awful way to die.
It doesn't take that much paracetamol to be absorbed to make it irreversible, amd it is painful, slow, and unstoppable when absorption has occurred.
Iirc 10g might be enough to kill, if not 20g is, been a while since I looked at those figures.


I have never been a great fan of Paracetamol as a non-prescription over the counter medicine. The difference between the maximum recommended dose and the minimum fatal one is really quite small.

(Little more than the maximum daily dose taken as a single hit IIRC)

Add to this, pretty well every "cold cure" etc also carries a hefty dose of paracetamol. People rarely use the measuring cups when taking the liquid mixture. usually over dose (both in frequency and dose) and frequently top up with additional tablets.

Sick people accidentally killing themselves with cold cures is really quite common.

The sad thing is that there is an antidote to the liver damage that can be incorporated with the paracetamol making it much safer. Why this is not made a legal requirement for the non-prescription paracetamol I really dont know. Sure it would put the price up a bit but how much paracetamol do you take in a year??
 
I have never been a great fan of Paracetamol as a non-prescription over the counter medicine. The difference between the maximum recommended dose and the minimum fatal one is really quite small.

(Little more than the maximum daily dose taken as a single hit IIRC)

Yup, unfortunately the LD50 is very close to the effective dose, however other than that, paracetamol is a relatively safe drug with very few side affects.

But...

Add to this, pretty well every "cold cure" etc also carries a hefty dose of paracetamol. People rarely use the measuring cups when taking the liquid mixture. usually over dose (both in frequency and dose) and frequently top up with additional tablets.

Sick people accidentally killing themselves with cold cures is really quite common.

...people are stupid. However the less stupid people the better IMO.
 
Sick people accidentally killing themselves with cold cures is really quite common.

The sad thing is that there is an antidote to the liver damage that can be incorporated with the paracetamol making it much safer. Why this is not made a legal requirement for the non-prescription paracetamol I really dont know. Sure it would put the price up a bit but how much paracetamol do you take in a year??

Yeah I had to give my Dad a right rollocking when he had a cold at Christmas and was supping away on his second Lemsip within 2 hours.

People don't like nanny state legislation like that, they prefer to be free to make their own mistakes even if it results in death.
 
Yeah I had to give my Dad a right rollocking when he had a cold at Christmas and was supping away on his second Lemsip within 2 hours.

People don't like nanny state legislation like that, they prefer to be free to make their own mistakes even if it results in death.

The trouble is it is the "Nanny state" that has created this situation. Many people now take it for granted that a non-prescription medicine is going to be essentially risk free (Otherwise you would need a prescription wouldn't you)

In fact, Paracetamol is extremely toxic and lethal with only a very small margin of overdose.

It isn't stupid people who accidentally kill themselves it is sick people, feverish people, people suffering pain (And even hungover people, though I would expect that paracetamol would be a particularly bad idea after a bender, I prefer the more traditional Alka-Seltza myself! :p) none of whome are really going to be firing on all cylinders mentally.

The antidote is available and should be used really for non prescription applications.

Alternatively you could put on all packages containing paracetamiol, in Large letters!

CONTAINS PARACETAMOL-IF YOU EXCEED THE RECOMMENDED DOSE YOU WILL DIE A SLOW PAINFUL DEATH!

But some how I dont thiks Boots etc would like that! :D
 
GF works in a hospital and they do hear rather sad stories of people who take an OD but then have a change of heart. Come into the hospital outwardly fine and then slowly die a rather unpleasant death as it's too late to reverse the damage.
 
Great way to skim off the dregs at the bottom of the gene pool. I can't actually believe this is a genuine 'thing', people can't actually be *that* stupid.
 
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