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# Worldwide, more 1400 millions cups of coffee are drunk every day. # Caffeine, which is found in coffee, increases the effect of some painkillers, especially aspirin and paracetamol.

Paracetamol

Paracetamol has been in use as an analgesic for home medication for over 30 years and is accepted as a very effective treatment for the relief of pain and fever in adults and children.

Paracetamol - medicine that relieves fever

The first observations about the analgesic and antipyretic properties of paracetamol were made back in the late nineteenth century when alternative compounds were being sought to reduce fever in the treatment of infections. The antipyretics commonly used at the time consisted of preparations of natural compounds such as cinchona bark, from which quinine is derived, or galenicals based on willow bark, the earliest source of salicylate. Cinchona bark became in short supply and cheaper, synthetic substitutes were needed.

Paracetamol - antipyretic and analgesic

The recommended adult single dose of paracetamol is two standard 500 mg tablets. Research shows that the common threshold for liver damage to occur from a single paracetamol overdose is 15 gms (30 tablets) although standard hospital guidelines allow an extra safety margin and assume liver damage could occur at a single overdose of 24 standard tablets or 150 mg/kg body weight, whichever is the smaller. The overdose threshold may be lowered in a person taking certain prescription medicines, or a person who is an alcoholic or is seriously undernourished. If the overdose is spread over a period of time the threshold may be higher, as the initial paracetamol dose is effectively metabolised. (The recommended maximum dose in a 24 hour period is 4g or 8 tablets).

New advances in Paracetamol tablet

New research suggests that paracetamol may help to protect from changes leading to hardening of the arteries, a condition that contributes to many deaths per year from stroke, heart attacks and other forms of cardiovascular disease. The research indicates that use of paracetamol at recommended doses inhibits the oxidation of certain low-density lipoproteins which carry the 'bad' form of cholesterol, preventing one of the main processes involved in the formation of arterial plaque and hardening of the arteries.