Brits have been issued a common medication warning after a university student ended up on life support due to an unintentional overdose. Riley Lubas, a student at the University of Bath, was unaware that his cold medicine contained paracetamol. Within days, he was in multiple organ failure after taking the two together.
He was taking cold and flu tablets, which conatined paracetamol, alongside paracetamol tablets. Riley accidentally overdosed because he had been taking more than double the recommended adult maximum dose, reports The Daily Mail.
After developing stomach pains and being unable to keep his food down, he called 111 and was admitted to hospital, where doctors warned that his liver was heading towards failure.
He was sedated and put on life support and dialysis as he battled multiple organ failure, but against the odds, his liver slowly began to recover.
Cold and flu medicines can lead to accidental paracetamol overdoses because many of them already contain the painkiller.
Taking too much can cause toxic by-products to build up in the body, damaging the liver and kidneys. In severe cases, it can cause liver failure and even death, or leave someone needing a liver transplant.
The worrying part is that an overdose may not feel like an emergency at first. Someone can feel sick, vomit or have stomach pain, but many people have few or no symptoms in the early stages.
That is why the NHS says anyone who thinks they have taken too much paracetamol should seek medical help immediately, even if they feel completely fine.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has warned that “simple misunderstandings” about medicines can have serious consequences, highlighting the importance of checking the ingredients beforehand.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
