Has a hungover left you rummaging for the paracetamol?
Well put it down. An NHS doctor has shared the dangerous reason you shouldn’t take the trusty tablet to treat the excess of alcohol.
As reported in the Mirror, Dr Karan Rangarjan, a surgical doctor and lecturer at Sunderland University, regularly shares his knowledge on TikTok and says when paracetamol mixes with alcohol, it could harm the liver.
In the clip, that has been viewed almost one million times, Dr Rangarjan explains that both paracetamol and alcohol produce “toxic products” when broken down in the body.
Paracetamol is a common painkiller used to treat an array of symptoms, including headaches, migraines, fever, body aches and pains.
When taken together, the body may not be able to produce enough of a certain chemical called glutathione to neutralise the toxic compounds quickly enough – which could impact the liver.
He said: “To prevent this damage the liver produces glutathione to neutralise this toxic compound.
“Glutathione also neutralises acetaldehyde, the toxic breakdown products of alcohol.
“If you mix paracetamol and alcohol, it’s just not enough glutathione to go round neutralising the toxic breakdown products alcohol and paracetamol.”
Dr Rangarjan recommends taking ibuprofen instead of paracetamol to treat hangover headaches.
Since being posted, the video has racked up more than 92,900 likes and comments from users saying they weren’t aware of the issues – and many having taken both many times.
One said: "So me popping paras daily for my stress headaches and chasing them with wine to combat stress once a week is a bad idea. Who knew."
Someone else said: "Oh god why hasn’t anyone said this before, surprised my liver still works."
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