Medical experts yesterday warned about the dangers of misuse of painkillers after a girl in Taipei overdosed on Panadol, resulting in her nearly dying of an acute liver infection.
According to the chief of gastroenterology at Shutien Clinic, Wang Chi-tang (
Due to cold symptoms and menstrual pains, a woman took one Panadol tablet every half an hour, in addition to taking cold medicines, with the result that she developed an acute liver infection.
A pediatrician at Shu-tien clinic, Pan Chun-sheng (潘俊生), said: "If excessive Panadol is taken, it can be too much for the liver to process, resulting in liver cells being killed. In serious cases, liver failure and even death may result."
Wang said: "There are two main categories of liver problems that may be caused by painkillers. One type results from an innate adverse reaction to chemicals in painkillers, the other is related to taking excessive amounts of painkillers."
According to Pan, adults should not take more than eight Panadol tablets a day. A daily dose of 16 tablets may result in poisoning, while exceeding 30 tablets would likely lead to death. Pan said that for children, doses should be even less, not exceeding four tablets per day.
Pan further warned that alcohol should not be taken in conjunction with medication.
Symptoms of painkiller poisoning include feeling tired, sick, or vomiting.
Doctors advised the public to be cautious about taking over-the-counter medications to treat colds and urged them to seek medical advice instead.
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
RSS