Can 800mg of paracetamol kill me or damage my liver?
In the US, the Federal Drug Administration recommends a daily maximum dose of acetaminophen (our name for paracetamol, it is exactly the same) of 4,000 mg. That is, up to 4,000 mg over any 24-hour period is considered to be safe. There have been talks of reducing that recommendation, but 4,000 mg is the current recommended maximum daily dose. This all goes out the window, however, if alcohol is taken, even in small amounts. The same liver enzyme is the primary metabolic path of both alcohol and paracetamol. Taking them together can very easily saturate that enzyme. The secondary metabolic path of paracetamol has a metabolite that is extremely toxic to the liver. So any more paracetamol if you’ve had any alcohol in the past 24 hours would not be a good idea.
