What do you do when you have a headache? Pop a paracetemol and drown a cup of coffee, right? Not many of us know that this could have a fatal effect. According to the new findings, paracetamol reacts with the caffeine causing liver damage.
It is a known fact that overdoses of paracetamol causes liver damage; take it with coffee and it could prove deadly! When you take paracetamol with coffee, a toxic enzyme is created when the drug is broken down by the liver and it could turn out to be even more deadly if you consume alcohol.
US scientists created this toxic enzyme using genetically engineered bacteria and added caffeine to the mix. It was found that the toxin tripled when caffeine was present. Caffiene was also found to exacerbate liver damage in rats already suffering from liver problems.
Researcher Dr Sidney Nelson, of the University of Washington said,
The bottom line is that you don’t have to stop taking paracetamol or caffeine products, but you do need to monitor your intake more carefully when taking them together, especially if you drink alcohol.
Paracetemol is known to cut the risk of ovarian cancer when women took the drug regularly, however the long-term use of paracetamol increases the risk of kidney and liver failure and makes people more vulnerable to high blood pressure and strokes.
If at all you have take parcetemol, be careful not to take it with coffee or alcohol. Afterall, parcetemol should kill the pain, not you!
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