Took 5 Panadol 500 Mg All At Once. Does She Need Medical Attention?

Posted on Sat, 14 Jul 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 Answered on

Fri, 3 Aug 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : my daughter has taken 5 panadol they are 500mg each and she took them all at once, she is 15 and a half and is 49kg is this a lethal dose? does she need medical attention? what can i do to help her? what would some symptoms be?

Answered by Dr. Puneet Maheshwari (32 minutes later)

Hi,

Do not worry, she will be all right.

First, look for the below mentioned symptoms, if they are present the immediately consult a doctor.

diarrhoea
stomach pain
drowsiness, dizziness or weakness
high temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or above
chills (shivering)
loss of appetite
headache
irritability
difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
producing more saliva than normal
skin rash

Secondly, if these symptoms are absent, still follow these instructions---

Give plenty of fluids.
Give any antacid syrup available over the counter.
Reassure your daughter and be on her bedside

Now, let me tell you about paracetamol poisoning , to prevent such complications in future.

In general the recommended maximum daily dose for healthy adults is 4 grams. and for child 2 gm is maximum dose. As per my clinical experience, she will not get poisoning symptoms, because her weight is 49 kg and she is under safe dosing, but still I recommend you to consult a physician after initial measures.

Hope, this answer will help you out and I am ready for future followups(if any)

Regards,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar