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Everyone has paracetamol in their medicine cabinet. But poorly used, this drug can be dangerous or even deadly, as recalled the case Naomi Musenga. Thus, paracetamol poisoning is the cause of a hundred liver transplants each year. " Paracetamol is the best and the worst of things.It is an innocuous drug, very well tolerated in 99.999% of cases but becomes an extremely dangerous weapon when used outside nails "explains AFP pharmacologist François Chast. "It's like a kitchen knife: it's an effective and safe tool when you hold it by the handle, but if you're clumsy, you can cut yourself" he adds. Doliprane, Dafalgan, Efferalgan … Many paracetamol-based medicines are over the counter and commonly used for pain and fevers. But at too high doses, this substance can attack the liver.
NAOMI MUSENGA . The death of Naomi Musenga on December 29, 2017 at 22 years after being mocked on the phone by an operator of Samu Strasbourg, is thus "the consequence of a paracetamol intoxication absorbed by self-medication over several days " , said Wednesday, July 11, 2018 the prosecutor of this city, Yolande Renzi. " The evolutionary destruction of the cells of his liver brought about a failure of all his organs leading rapidly to his death ", according to Mrs. Renzi.
Not more than 3 grams per 24 hours [19659004] The maximum dose is 3 grams per 24 hours, spacing the catch. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "a single dose of 10 to 15 grams is enough to cause liver necrosis that can be fatal." This is why paracetamol is often used in suicides. " When you take 4 grams a day for several days, especially if you consume alcohol at the same time, it is likely to cause drug hepatitis called fulminant, that is to say quickly radical ", emphasizes Professor Chast. This is an emergency, which requires the administration of a molecule called N-acetylcysteine. Without prompt treatment, this liver condition can be fatal. " Every year in France, nearly a hundred liver transplants (about 1,200 in total, ed) are related to paracetamol intoxication ," says Professor Chast. "This is a considerable proportion, all for a misuse of a drug deemed harmless" . The pharmacologist Jean-Paul Giroud pleads for a better information of the general public on the potential dangers of paracetamol: "there is a problem of information for which I fight for 40 years, but one can not say that the the public authorities seize it, it is up to them to insist on it. "
PARACETAMOL . According to one study, in addition to its known toxicity on the liver, regular intake of paracetamol would also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 68% when consuming more than 15 tablets per week. The risk of developing gastrointestinal and renal problems is also increased in case of regular consumption. For kidney problems, the risk would be doubled in the event of cumulative intake of more than 500g of paracetamol over the course of life.
"There are 200 medicines containing paracetamol"
And even if we are vigilant sometimes you can go over the maximum dose without knowing it. " There are 200 medicines containing paracetamol, I have been a specialist in drugs for 50 years and I am unable to cite them all ," says Professor Giroud. " If you take two, for example one prescribed by a doctor and the other self-medication, you can end up at doses greater than 4 grams per day ," he continues. An overdose of paracetamol first causes " discrete signs of gastrointestinal irritation ," according to the WHO. They "are generally followed two days later by anorexia, nausea, malaise, abdominal pain, then progressive signs of hepatic insufficiency and, finally, hepatic coma."
CG with AFP [19659009]
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