In order to avoid a potentially dangerous overdose, aspirin, Doliprane or even Advil must be stored behind the counter of pharmacies from January 15, 2020, announced the Medicines Agency (ANSM) on Tuesday December 17.
Strengthen the advisory role of the pharmacist. In order to avoid potentially dangerous overconsumption, aspirin, Doliprane (paracetamol) or even Advil (ibuprofen), will be compulsorily stored behind the counter of pharmacies from January 15, 2020 and no longer freely available on the shelves. , announced the Medicines Agency (ANSM) on Tuesday, December 17. “This measure is part of the continuity of the actions carried out by the Agency to secure the use of these medicines, in particular the arrival in the coming months of a message on the boxes of medicines containing paracetamol in order to alert on the risk to the liver in the event of an overdose”, notes the agency in a press release published on its website.
Until now, customers could help themselves from the pharmacy shelves. These drugs were then the most used in self-medication to relieve chronic pain or fever in adults but also children. But if they “are safe and effective when used correctly”, they “present risks when used improperly”, warns the ANSM.
“If the patient comes to the pharmacist telling him about a certain type of pain, the pharmacist can advise him on paracetamol rather than ibuprofen. From the moment when the drugs will no longer be directly accessible on the shelves of the pharmacy, but will have to be requested, the pharmacist’s advisory role will be reinforced”, explained Doctor Philippe Vella, director of analgesic drugs at the ANSM, at France info in October.
Alert specific populations
Consuming too much paracetamol can cause severe liver damage, which may require a transplant or even lead to death. For a healthy adult over 50 kilos, the maximum dose is 3 grams per 24 hours, or 1 gram per dose, with a space of at least 6 hours between each dose, recalls the ANSM. As for the maximum duration of recommended treatment, it is “3 days in case of fever, 5 days in case of pain, in the absence of a prescription.”
To alert special populations (50kg, mild to moderate liver failure, severe kidney failure, chronic alcoholism, etc.) to the possible risks associated with this product, the agency decided in July that the warning “overdose = danger” should now be written on the boxes of paracetamol.
Many side effects
As for aspirin, which many seniors take daily without their doctor’s authorization to prevent a heart attack, several studies have shown that it is not without risk either. According to a study published this summer in the journal Annals of Internal Medicinenot only would consuming it every day be useless in the fight against heart disease in people without a history, but it would increase the risk of developing an ulcer.
With regard to Advil-ibuprofen, prescribed or taken as self-medication in the event of fever, inflammatory skin lesions or pulmonary disorders, this drug has reportedly caused 337 cases of infectious complications since the year 2000.
In a report published in April, the ANSM mentions “severe infections of the skin and soft tissues (dermohypodermitis, necrotizing fasciitis, etc.), sepsis, pleuro-pulmonary infections (pneumonia complicated by abscess, pleurisy), neurological infections (empyema, brain abscess, etc.) or complicated ENT infections (cellulitis, mediastinitis, etc.), leading to hospitalizations, sequelae and even death.”
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