How many days can I take paracetamol?

[hannaaah666]

I'm pretty ill at the moment but if I take 4 paracetamol a day it helps a lot. At the hospital they give out paracetamol like sweets and I take like 2 every 4 hours for as long as I'm there.
BUT how many days in a row can I take about 4 paracetamol a day? I take 2 in the morning and 2 before bed but I don't want to like corrode my liver or something. I'm already on several drugs with crap side effects and dont want to do any more damage.
Also, can you drink alcohol with paracetamol? Some people say it's fine, others say I WILL DIE if I have so much as half a beer.

Thanks

 

[PsychoJane]

I don't know for sure for how many day it is safe... but I know it is regularly prescribed on daily basis. I know that several people in my family takes it daily for arthritis. So I don't believe it is an issue to take tylenol(same as paracetamol) daily on it's own. The key rule is to never take more than 4g a day. At the hospital, the 2 pills(325mg)/4hours comes to a total of 3900mg/day which is ok. Just be cautious if you continue taking your paracetamol regularly to keep an eye on OTC medication (flu meds, etc) cause they may contain acetaminophen too and well, you don't want to take more than 4g from any sources.

Second concern regarding alcohol. No, taking tylenol and 1 beer should not kill you. I don't recommend you mixing both as they are both asking your liver to work extra. If you want to drink, better avoid your tylenol but even then, if you just have a glass of wine or a beer during the evening and want to take you tylenol at night, it should not be the end of the world. There is a lot that goes with the frequency. If you were to tell me you drink 2-3 beers a day and take tylenol I would be telling you to watch for yourself for liver problem. I know It happened to me a few time in my life to take tylenol and drinks and it has not killed me, but it is for sure not to recommend. As I said before, avoid that mix as much as you can.

I don't know what medication you are taking, you may want to check with your pharmacist if there are any other meds you take that need to be taken into account when it comes to the recommended daily maximal dosage of acetaminophen.

 

[skippy111]

paracetamol would be the equivalent of Tylenol here in America which is a brand name for acetaminophen. Over the counter here we have the 325mg tabs and the 500mg tabs (extra strength)

I looked on the drugs.com interaction checker and it does indicate that you should avoid excessive amounts of alcohol.



As far as having just one beer, ask your DR! Never trust the advice of people who are not famililar with your condition... If you are taking other medications, alcohol can cause a serious interaction ...