Warning about popular pain medication

The possible side effects of a popular pain relief medication has been revealed.

The possible side effects of a popular pain relief medication has been revealed.

A recent study, published in Arthritis Care and Research, examined the effects of paracetamol in adults aged 65 and over and revealed some concerning links between regular use and serious health issues.

Scientists from Nottingham University analysed six months of health records for over 180,000 people who were repeatedly prescribed the medicine and nearly 400,000 who were not, The Sun reported.

They discovered those who popped paracetamol faced a higher risk of a range of complications, including peptic ulcer bleeding, lower gastrointestinal bleeding, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease.

In fact, the risk of peptic ulcer bleeding was 24 per cent higher, and lower gastrointestinal bleeding jumped by 36 per cent.

Warning over popular medication. Picture: iStock

Meanwhile, people who took painkillers were nine per cent more likely to suffer from heart failure, than those who didn’t.

According to the NHS, paracetamol “rarely causes side effects”, is safe to take regularly “for many years”.

It is the first-choice painkiller for people while pregnant or breastfeeding.

However, it is already known that paracetamol may be dangerous for certain people.

The standard dose could be too high for people weighing less than 50kg, the NHS warns.

And the drug “may not be suitable” for those with liver or kidney problems.

It’s also not safe for those who regularly drink more than six medium glasses of wine per week because alcohol puts stress on the liver.

One in give Australians drink more than 10 standard drinks a week.

A study was conducted by the University of Nottingham. Picture: iStock

While the new study doesn’t prove paracetamol was the cause of these health issues, it does suggest the potential harms may outweigh the benefits, for certain people.

Study author, Professor Weiya Zhang, said: “Whilst further research is now needed to confirm our findings, given its minimal pain-relief effect, the use of paracetamol as a first-line pain killer for long-term conditions such as osteoarthritis in older people needs to be carefully considered.”

It comes as the Therapeutic Goods Association limited non-pharmacy retailers to only sell packets of paracetamol that contained no more than 16 pills.

Each year 225 people are hospitalised with liver injury and 50 people die from paracetamol overdose in Australia.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and reproduced with permission

Originally published as Warning about popular pain medication