The purpose of this report is to explain the effects of Paracetamol and its impact on the body, in particular physical health. Paracetamol is a drug used for pain relief and has effects on the brain with addiction and overuse, therefore has causes on the person’s physical health and therefore their life and their social relationships.
Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a very common drug that can be use daily without a prescription. It is seen in society as non-dangerous and non-harmful, that can be used widely at all ages. Health, especially physical, is extremely important and having an optimum image of health is an example for others in the community. If a person is sick frequently, especially in cases where you are at fault such as having an addiction, it puts a negative impact on your body and your appearance. Overall the health system puts a large amount of money into preventing and treating cases of overdoses and their effects; for all people who have a dependency on all types of drugs. If a patient is addicted to paracetamol over a long amount of time the damage can be irreplaceable, the harm on the liver, kidneys, blood and brain could be permanent and it takes a lot of medical help to fix the injuries the patient has inflicted on themselves with overuse. A study that oversaw patients that were diagnosed with paracetamol poisoning through the years of 2000-2007 where there were significant numbers at 14,662 with 26 patients having died within the 7-year time frame. From these statistics Paracetamol poisoning is not a rare occurrence even though the general public is not aware of this issue, in this study the amount of people who are actually admitted to the hospital can cause a big effect on the health system and it can crowd hospitals when people with bigger health needs should be attended to instead of people with paracetamol poisoning when it can be prevented.
This report researches the effect of paracetamol and focuses on physical health and what happens inside the body, more than any other aspect of health like mental or social. It shows the production of paracetamol and structure, it will also explain how it enters the bloodstream and how it works to stop pain and fever. The main purpose of this report is to inform about the effects it has on the body and the harm it has on organs therefore its reaction it has on physical health.
When the paracetamol is ingested it is absorbed easily, it depends on the dosage of how it is distributed and the rate it is absorbed, different dosages depend on age and can only take one dose every 4-6 hours and four doses daily at maximum; adults can consume 500mg – 1g while children aged between 12-16 can take 480mg - 780mg, any person younger than this, the dose will go down by 25mg for every two years of age. As it breaks down in the stomach, it is mostly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract then circulates through the body in the blood streams. It metabolises in the liver- when an overdose is taken, the liver will be damaged and the amount of paracetamol will act as a poison and cause hepatotoxicity or liver failure and will most likely cause death without immediate medical help. The liver’s job in the body is to eliminate toxins and chemicals, inside the liver the natural occurring chemical is called Glutathione, this prevents any harm to the body and is responsible of getting rid of any toxins and chemicals throughout the body. If the storage of glutathione runs down to 30%, the liver will try and eliminate the paracetamol poisoning some other way, this is when necrosis happens and the cells start to die in the liver and kidney tubules. This will cause permanent damage, and if serious enough, death. Paracetamol only has a half-life of 1-3 hours which is very short. With a single dose of paracetamol, 98% of it will be ingested and 2-3% will be eliminated and excreted though the kidneys. There are also studies saying that paracetamol can raise pressure and increase risk of heart attack if taken in bulk and over a long period of time; researchers in Boston followed 16,031 men for 4 years who all took paracetamol for pain. At the end of the 4 years only 2000 men were diagnosed with high blood pressure, these where the men which used paracetamol 6-7 times a week and had a 34% higher risk than non-uses; the more pills the greater the risk, people who choose to take 6-12 tablets a week increased the likeliness to 53%.
Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a very common drug that can be use daily without a prescription. It is seen in society as non-dangerous and non-harmful, that can be used widely at all ages. Health, especially physical, is extremely important and having an optimum image of health is an example for others in the community. If a person is sick frequently, especially in cases where you are at fault such as having an addiction, it puts a negative impact on your body and your appearance. Overall the health system puts a large amount of money into preventing and treating cases of overdoses and their effects; for all people who have a dependency on all types of drugs. If a patient is addicted to paracetamol over a long amount of time the damage can be irreplaceable, the harm on the liver, kidneys, blood and brain could be permanent and it takes a lot of medical help to fix the injuries the patient has inflicted on themselves with overuse. A study that oversaw patients that were diagnosed with paracetamol poisoning through the years of 2000-2007 where there were significant numbers at 14,662 with 26 patients having died within the 7-year time frame. From these statistics Paracetamol poisoning is not a rare occurrence even though the general public is not aware of this issue, in this study the amount of people who are actually admitted to the hospital can cause a big effect on the health system and it can crowd hospitals when people with bigger health needs should be attended to instead of people with paracetamol poisoning when it can be prevented.
This report researches the effect of paracetamol and focuses on physical health and what happens inside the body, more than any other aspect of health like mental or social. It shows the production of paracetamol and structure, it will also explain how it enters the bloodstream and how it works to stop pain and fever. The main purpose of this report is to inform about the effects it has on the body and the harm it has on organs therefore its reaction it has on physical health.
Background
Paracetamol is a pain relieving drug and completely synthetic, meaning paracetamol is not naturally occurring. It is a pain relieving drug and also used for reducing fever in people, paracetamol belongs in the analgesic and antipyretics family of drugs. Paracetamol consists of several elements that all have different products that conjoin to make this drug. All have a part to play for the paracetamol to act efficiently. The start of the production process to make this drug, is to begin with the chemical called phenol (hydroxybenzene), from here it will react with sodium nitrate and sulphuric acid when added and turn into a combined structure called nitrophenol. In the next step, the nitrophenol needs to lose oxygen and gain hydrogen to its molecules, this process adds aminophenol to the equation – this is called a reduction reaction. These processes make the paracetamol into an amine and carboxylic acid functional groups which is made by precipitating aminophenol in room temperature water and ethanoic anhydride, making it slightly acidic; the specific formula of paracetamol is C8H9NO2.
The most common way paracetamol is presented, is in a white/colourless powder compressed into a tablet, it is odourless and has a slight bitter taste. The melting point where the solid drug forms a liquid is 169-170 degrees, the temperature needs to rise to 500 degrees to reach paracetamol’s boiling point where the liquid turns to vapour. Paracetamol is a stable drug which doesn’t need to be keep cool or above room temperature and will not expire for 3 years because of its powder form and kept in a dry place. It is an aqueous meaning it’s soluble and will dissolve. Paracetamol is nearly always taken orally, meaning it will dissolve when taken and then enters the bloodstream.
When the paracetamol is ingested it is absorbed easily, it depends on the dosage of how it is distributed and the rate it is absorbed, different dosages depend on age and can only take one dose every 4-6 hours and four doses daily at maximum; adults can consume 500mg – 1g while children aged between 12-16 can take 480mg - 780mg, any person younger than this, the dose will go down by 25mg for every two years of age. As it breaks down in the stomach, it is mostly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract then circulates through the body in the blood streams. It metabolises in the liver- when an overdose is taken, the liver will be damaged and the amount of paracetamol will act as a poison and cause hepatotoxicity or liver failure and will most likely cause death without immediate medical help. The liver’s job in the body is to eliminate toxins and chemicals, inside the liver the natural occurring chemical is called Glutathione, this prevents any harm to the body and is responsible of getting rid of any toxins and chemicals throughout the body. If the storage of glutathione runs down to 30%, the liver will try and eliminate the paracetamol poisoning some other way, this is when necrosis happens and the cells start to die in the liver and kidney tubules. This will cause permanent damage, and if serious enough, death. Paracetamol only has a half-life of 1-3 hours which is very short. With a single dose of paracetamol, 98% of it will be ingested and 2-3% will be eliminated and excreted though the kidneys. There are also studies saying that paracetamol can raise pressure and increase risk of heart attack if taken in bulk and over a long period of time; researchers in Boston followed 16,031 men for 4 years who all took paracetamol for pain. At the end of the 4 years only 2000 men were diagnosed with high blood pressure, these where the men which used paracetamol 6-7 times a week and had a 34% higher risk than non-uses; the more pills the greater the risk, people who choose to take 6-12 tablets a week increased the likeliness to 53%.
Paracetamol is a pain relieving drug meaning it blocks or lessens the signals to the brain telling that we are in pain. Prostaglandins are made at the place of injury or sickness, they are responsible for fever, pain and inflammation as a part of the body’s healing process. Prostaglandins are the chemical signal that sends the brain messages that we are in pain. When paracetamol is taken, they stop the production of prostaglandins and the signals they send to the brain, when the cells aren’t sending any messages to the brain about the pain, the pain is lessened or stopped completely. Paracetamol is also taken to reduce fever, the brain sector that controls temperature is called the hypothalamus, the hypothalamus controls a lot of aspects like hunger, thirst and sleep among others; only a certain part of the hypothalamus acts like a thermostatic mechanism and when a fever is in process it admits a protein called pyrogen. This protein helps raise the body’s heat to a set point by creating a compound with prostaglandin. By taking paracetamol this stops the production of prostaglandin just like it is used in pain relief, therefore stopping or reducing the fever.
Discussion
Paracetamol affects physical health in so many different ways, it can damage your organs over time or straight away after a huge dosage. Paracetamol can damage your organs such as liver, kidneys and stomach. It can cause illnesses such as high blood pressure with big constant doses, it also increases your risk of heart attacks. All these issues can cause serious health problems on your physical health, liver damage is irreversible and a person will be on medication for the rest of their life. To prevent this from happening, it will need to be treated by a doctor within 16 hours of the over dose; every 4 hours the patient will be dosed with 140mg of methionine or acetylcysteine until the liver test results come back with the correct pattern for a healthy liver, if the results come back abnormal it means the liver damage has already taken affect and cannot be cured. If a person suffers from any of these side effects it can determine of what you can and cannot eat, if you can exercise or what job you can occupy. It can also will restrict you from taking other medication in cases where both of the medications cause a reaction. If the liver damage is permanent and if not treated, the body may shut down and put the patient into a coma. If it is treated by a doctor then medication will be assigned to keep the liver functioning without it shutting down or becoming so toxic that is leaks to other organs. People with liver toxicity or damage can’t drink much or any alcohol because it will worsen the condition. There is also research that says that taking paracetamol when mothers are pregnant is dangerous for those who are expecting a son. Danish studies show that women who took paracetamol throughout their pregnancy was more likely to have sons with reproduction problems throughout their life. To prove this theory scientists conducted an experiment on mice and fed them paracetamol 7 days a week and found low levels of testosterone – when only one dose was administered there was no change, meaning only a prolonged use of paracetamol will affect a male baby’s reproductive organs when it’s born. All these side effects are caused by consuming paracetamol consistently or over dosing on paracetamol and causes major effects on your physical health or your unborn son’s physical health.
Conclusion
This report has shown the effects of paracetamol on the brain therefore physical health and its main consequences. This drug is not counted as an addictive drug and is used to stop pain or fever. With consistent over use or in large dosages will it actually affect your organs. When used safely in one or two doses it stops the signals of pain to the brain by stopping the multiplication of prostaglandins which numbs the signals or stops the pain/fever altogether. But when over taken, it over powers the organs and starts to damage them as they can’t handle the amount of chemicals and can’t absorb it all so the cells start to die. It effects your liver, kidneys, stomach, blood and/or male foetus if expecting a baby boy in a pregnancy and all these can affect a person’s physical life and health. Physical health is a massive aspect of everyone’s lives and can change your exercise routine which can result in further problems in physical health. Having issues with any organs that are damaged by paracetamol can effect anything – social relationships, mental health and physical health.
Public Education Piece
My public education piece is a poster to advise the general public of the information learned during this research assignment.
References
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