Professor challenges common uses of paracetamol

Paracetamol may do little for headaches and ordinary back pain, and it does not generally help with sleep problems, according to a professor quoted by DR. The medicine can ease fever-related discomfort, but it does not make people recover faster.

Danes buy more than one billion paracetamol tablets a year, or about 180 per person, according to the Danish Pharmacy Association. Jon Trærup Andersen, a professor at the University of Copenhagen and chief physician at Bispebjerg Hospital, says many people reach for the tablets as an immediate remedy for everyday problems.

Headaches

The effect of paracetamol on headaches is limited, Andersen says. For tension headaches, 22 people would need to take the medicine for one person to be headache-free after two hours, he says. He attributes some of the relief people report to the placebo effect.

Taking paracetamol or other painkillers frequently over a long period can also cause medication-overuse headache. The condition affects two per cent of adults and is increasingly seen among children and young people.

Menstrual pain

Heat treatment may work better than paracetamol for menstrual pain, Andersen says, citing a study that compared the two. Between 50 and 90 per cent of women experience menstrual pain, and around one in 10 are affected badly enough to stay home from school or work on the first day of their period.

Fever and back pain

Paracetamol can reduce discomfort associated with illness and fever, but it does not treat the underlying cause of a fever or speed recovery.

For ordinary back pain, the Danish Health Authority says painkillers, including paracetamol, have limited or no effect. It recommends staying active, as movement works better than medicine for back pain. Most back pain goes away on its own within a few weeks.

Sleep and stress

Taking paracetamol to help with sleep does not make medical sense, Andersen says. It may ease sleep problems if they are caused by fever, thanks to the medicine’s fever-reducing effect, but it does not generally treat sleep difficulties.

Young people interviewed for DR’s P3 programme Generation headache also described taking paracetamol when they felt nervous, including before an important exam. Andersen says a similar pattern has been observed in Norway. A study among upper-secondary students in the Agder region found that 30 per cent used painkillers weekly or daily, and many took them for stress and anxiety.