Paracetamol

Paracetamol is a painkiller that is popular throughout the world because it is remarkably safe and it does not irritate the stomach. Paracetamol was first discovered to have both analgesic and antipyretic properties in the late nineteenth century. Prior to this, cinchona bark, which was also used to make the anti-malaria drug quinine, had been used to treat fevers.

Initially, paracetamol was found in the urine of patients who had taken phenacetin and in 1889 it was demonstrated that paracetamol was a urinary metabolite of acetanilide.

In 1956, 500 mg tablets of paracetamol went on sale in the United Kingdom and its popularity as an over-the-counter analgesic rapidly increased. 

Paracetamol works as a weak prostaglandin inhibitor. But paracetamol is different from Aspirin and NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) in that it blocks the pain message at the brain and not at the source of the pain. Structually, paracetamol is similar to aspirin. 

Paracetamol is used to relieve mild to moderate pain, including instances of tension headache, migraine headache, muscular aches, neuralgia, backache, joint pain, rheumatic pain, general pain, toothache, teething pain, osteoarthritis, and period pain. 

It is suitable for most people, including the elderly and young children, because it has very few side effects. Paracetamol is an antipyretic that can reduce fever by affecting the part of the brain known as the hypothalamus that regulates the temperature of the body. This is why paracetamol is included in many cough, cold and flu medications.

Paracetamol can be used by patients for whom NSAIDs are contraindicated, including those with asthma or peptic ulcers. 

Cholestyramine may reduce the rate at which paracetamol is absorbed by the gut, while Metoclopramide and Domperidone, which are used to relieve the symptoms of stomach disorders, may have the opposite effect and should be used with caution. Paracetamol has shown no propensity to be addictive, even in people who use it frequently.