Paracetamol INN ( / ˌ p ær ə ˈ s iː t ə m ɒ l / or / ˌ p ær ə ˈ s ɛ t ə m ɒ l /), or acetaminophen USAN / ə ˌ s iː t ə ˈ m ɪ n ə f ɨ n /, is a widely used over-the-counter analgesic (pain reliever) and antipyretic (fever reducer). It is commonly used for the relief of headaches and other minor aches and pains and is a major ingredient in numerous cold and flu remedies. In combination with opioid analgesics, paracetamol can also be used in the management of more severe pain such as post-surgical pain and providing palliative care in advanced cancer patients. The onset of analgesia is approximately 11 minutes after oral administration of paracetamol, and its half-life is 1–4 hours.

While generally safe for use at recommended doses (1,000 mg per single dose and up to 3,000 mg per day for adults), acute overdoses of paracetamol can cause potentially fatal liver damage and, in rare individuals, a normal dose can do the same; the risk is heightened by alcohol consumption. Paracetamol toxicity is the foremost cause of acute liver failure in the Western world, and accounts for most drug overdoses in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

It is the active metabolite of phenacetin, once popular as an analgesic and antipyretic in its own right, but unlike phenacetin and its combinations, paracetamol is not considered carcinogenic at therapeutic doses. The words acetaminophen (used in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Iran) and paracetamol (used elsewhere) both come from a chemical name for the compound: para-acetylaminophenol and para-acetylaminophenol. In some contexts, it is simply abbreviated as APAP, for acetyl-para-aminophenol.

Noun

paracetamol (countable and uncountable; plural paracetamols)

1. (UK, pharmacology, uncountable) An NSAID used to treat mild pain.
2. (UK, pharmacology, countable) A paracetamol tablet.

• acetaminophen (US)

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