My Painkillers and I (Part I)

My Painkillers and I (PART 1)

“All about your Paracetamol”

By Jen Nee Chang

Edited by Jordy Wong and Pui Yee

We all know the popular Panadol brand that contains the active ingredients ‘paracetamol’. From our first article ‘Medication: Paracetamol’by Jordy Wong, I believe that all of you are aware on the usage of paracetamol and all your doubts and certain myths should be cleared after reading his article. Now, let’s take a step further to understand their differences in this article. =)

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You are walking into the pharmacy, and you are just next to the over the counter painkiller section where you will usually be spoiled for choice from the selections for just the Panadol brand. This article here will help you to select the medication what suits your condition the most.

Panadol Regular

Panadol Regular is the most common and most popular option among patients. It contains paracetamol 500mg in each tablets are patients are required to take 2 tablets each time every 4 hourly with a maximum dose of 4000mg. Panadol Regular works for mild headache and fever or any mild pain in the body.

Panadol Actifast

Panadol Actifast contains paracetamol 500mg and Sodium 173mg. The sodium contained increases the rates of gastric emptying and dissolution process. This speeds up the process of absorption hence providing faster onset of relief compared to conventional tablets. It also works for mild headache and fever or any mild pain in the body. However, it should be used with caution in patients who should be receiving low salt diet (eg. heart failure patient, kidney impaired patient, patient with high blood pressure).

Panadol Soluble

The Panadol soluble contains paracetamol 500mg and Sodium 427mg. However, panadol soluble comes in effervescent tablet form and hence it needs to be dissolved in water before consuming. It is equally as effective as panadol actifast as it also contains sodium. The Panadol Soluble is suitable for people who have difficulties swallowing pills. However, it is highly discouraged to be used in patients who should be receiving low salt diet (eg. heart failure patient, kidney impaired patient, patient with high blood pressure) due to the high sodium content.

Panadol Menstrual

This dark pink coloured pill contains 500mg paracetamol and 25mg of pamabrom. Pamabrom is a water pill that increases urination. Thus, it is useful to treat bloating, swelling, feeling of fullness and other signs of water retention (“water weight gain”) related to menstrual symptoms.

Panadol for children

Each of this pill contains 120mg of paracetamol. Based on the child’s age, the number of tablets can be given accordingly:

1-3 years old --- 1 tablet (120mg) at a time, every 4 hours when necessary

4-6 years old --- 2 tablets (240mg)  at a time, every 4 hours when necessary

7-9 years old --- 3 tablets (360mg)  at a time, every 4 hours when necessary

10-12 years old --- 4 tablets (480mg)  at a time, every 4 hours when necessary

These tablets are chewable.

Nevertheless, for kids below the age of 6, syrup paracetamol are  recommended to avoid cases of choking . The Panadol suspension 1-6 years contains 120ml/5ml of paracetamol. The dosage are shown below:

1-3 years : 6-10ml ( every 4 hours when necessary)

4-6 years: 10-15ml ( every 4 hours when necessary)

The Panadol suspension 6+ on the other hand  contains 250ml/5ml of paracetamol. The dosage are shown below:

4-6 years: 5-7ml ( every 4 hours when necessary)

7-9 years : 7-10ml ( every 4 hours when necessary)

10-12 years : 10-15ml ( every 4 hours when necessary)

Panadol Extend

The panadol extend contains 665mg of paracetamol and it is able to provide up to 8 hours of relief. Panadol Extend is suitable for muscle sore, joints pain (including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis) and backache. Two tablets should be consumed every 6-8 hours with a maximum of 6 tablets in 24 hours.

Panadol 650mg

Each of this pill consists of 650mg and is usually used to relieve fever and pain such as backache and period pain. 1- 2 caplets can be taken each time and not more than 6 caplets should be taken in one day.

Panadol Extra

Panadol Extra is 30% more powerful when compared to the regular paracetamol as it contains paracetamol 500mg and caffeine 65mg. The paracetamol acts as a pain reliever while the  caffeine acts to further amplify the analgesic effect of paracetamol. It is used for the relief of headache, migraine, backache, rheumatic pain, muscle pain, neuralgia, toothache and period pain.  They also relieve sore throat and help reduce temperature.

Other generic brands that contains paracetamol:

Biogesic

Milidon

Uphamol

Generic brands that contain paracetamol are equally effective as Panadol brand. For information regarding generic and branded medications, please refer to our May’s article ‘Branded & Generic Medicines’ by Loh Pui Yee.

Paracetamol is a good choice of pain reliever for people with sensitive stomachs, stomach ulcers and other stomach disorders. They can also be used by breast-feeding women and pregnant women.