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Why Are People Consuming More Paracetamol?
The drug paracetamol is also known as acetaminophen. It is probably the most widely used analgesic and antipyretic across the world. It is an important agent since it has been known to relieve pain and fever and thus could be self-prescriptive/courageous in use by people. However, with the recent alarming trend toward increasing the consumption of such a drug, it now has a significantly higher rate of overdose and health complications relative to many other medications in common use. Such an analysis aims to explore the history, statistical trends, underlying causes for increased consumption of the drug, implications of misuse, the potential for addiction, and future directions for safe usage.
Stats Of Paracetamol Use:
Alarming new trends in the latest studies related to the prescription of paracetamol are:
Signs Of Increasing Overdose: During the years between 2007 and 2017, there has been a 44.3% increase in paracetamol poisoning diagnoses in Australia, a large part of which is self-harm.
Hospital Admissions: During this time, the rise in hospitalizations from paracetamol overdoses had an alarming trajectory, indicating an abuse trend.
Global Context: For example, in the United States, paracetamol is responsible for around 56,000 emergency room visits and approximately 26,000 additional hospitalizations per year attributable to overdose. It causes more than 150 accidental deaths each year.
Youth and Adolescents: In Australia, there has been a huge increase in overdoses among children aged 10-14 years (133% increase) and adolescents aged 15-19 years (61% increase).
Older Adults: Similar increases can be witnessed among older adults aged 65 years and above, even rising to 253 percent among those aged 85.
Stats In India:
Research suggests that a significant proportion of users surpass the recommended maximum daily dose of paracetamol. For example, studies indicated that almost 6.3% of paracetamol users from the general population surpassed the daily maximum of 4 grams at least once during the period of their use, with the incidence of overdose occurring in about 3.7% of usage days. This developing trend is not alarming at all in a scenario where several individuals do not even know the cumulative effects of taking other multiple medicines that contain paracetamol.
The availability and affordability of paracetamol have also made it a household name in India: the price of paracetamol tablets is as low as 0.24 paisa, making it affordable for self-medication of a varied population. The more affordable the drug gets, the more it encourages overuse among a population that lacks proper access to healthcare.
Moreover, there is increasing concern over the combination of paracetamol with other medicines which turns out to be an accidental overdose. The existence of many fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) containing paracetamol has rung alarm bells with many healthcare professionals regarding the possibility that within these combinations consumers may be exceeding safe doses without even realizing it.
Causes of Increased Consumption:
1. Availability and Promotion:
This leads to everyone using it without any control. Heavy or aggressive promotional actions have made this drug highly consumed.
2. Self-medication:
Today people do feel the need to get immediate relief from pain without consulting any doctors. As one improves, one tends to do such acts unintentionally leading to overdoses.
3. Co-Administration of Other Drugs:
The importance of medication with paracetamol orally is a combination of other specific sedatives or analgesics like opioids. So really this happens to not lead to the crossmark of how much of it is consumed by them, but if combined be it with something else, the overdose exists.
4. Mental Health Issues:
Moreover, in the findings of all over-dosage incidences, it is highly evident that mental disturbance has a dominant place in indices of socioeconomic standards as far as this use is concerned. Most of these incidences have been through self-harm or ideation toward suicide.
5. Potential for Addiction:
Paracetamol, however, is not viewed as an addictive drug like an opioid is. However, it can still make you develop psychological dependence whereby you will feel that you need to consume it repeatedly for pain relief or management of distress in some way. The whole problem becomes further complicated when combining paracetamol with opioids, as patients with dependence could then be addicted to both agents.
Health Hazards:
Damage to the liver: Paracetamol poisoning is the most common cause of acute liver failure in many countries. Repeated high doses really increase the risk of liver injury.
Gastrointestinal Disorders: Prolonged use has been associated with an increased risk of such gastrointestinal complications as bleeding and ulcers.
Cardiovascular Risks: Higher doses correspond to a greater risk of certain cardiovascular events such as stroke and myocardial infarction.
Steps to reduce the overuse of paracetamol:
It is a multi-pronged approach to tackle the growing trend of paracetamol abuse in public education, regulation, and incorporation of healthcare providers' involvement.
These public awareness campaigns, therefore, are vital to informing people about the risks associated with paracetamol, adherence to requisite dosage levels, and being alert to the possibility of using different products containing paracetamol in tandem.
Most consumers would not know that multiple products available in the store contain paracetamol; it often leads to unintentional overdoses. Regulatory measures may stipulate limits on the amount of paracetamol found in a single package or prohibit sales from any non-pharmacy outlet to prevent impulsive use from quick and easy access.
Furthermore, healthcare providers are also extremely important because they advise patients on safe usage behaviors, maximum daily dosage limits, and warnings on interactions with other medications or alcohol. So, it becomes possible to reduce the risk of misuse while ensuring that paracetamol continues to serve as a safe and effective analgesic through public health, regulation, and collaboration by healthcare professionals.
References:
- Rates of paracetamol overdose continue to rise in Australia- https://www.nps.org.au/news/paracetamol-overdoses-rise
- Prevalence of exceeding maximum daily dose of paracetamol, and seasonal variations in cold‐flu season-https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5980528/
- Ayush Jain- Analysis of Various Doses of Paracetamol in the Indian Market: A Need to Revisit- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376293608_Analysis_of_Various_Doses_of_Paracetamol_in_the_Indian_Market_A_Need_to_Revisit
- Paracetamol Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023-2028)-https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/4997604/paracetamol-market-growth-trends-covid-19
- The Uniquely Indian Paracetamol Problem- https://science.thewire.in/health/paracetamol-650-mg-drug-pricing/
- What’s the point of paracetamol?- https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/what%E2%80%99s-point-paracetamol
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