{"id":167438,"date":"2025-09-29T05:38:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T05:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/167438\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T05:38:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T05:38:14","slug":"nhs-3-day-warning-on-common-painkiller-used-by-millions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/167438\/","title":{"rendered":"NHS 3-day warning on common painkiller used by millions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tens of millions of co-codamol prescriptions are dispensed each year\"Co-codamol\"Co-codamol tablets are used by millions across the UK <\/p>\n

The NHS has issued an alert regarding a widely-used painkiller taken by millions across the UK annually. Tens of millions of co-codamol prescriptions are dispensed each year, with chemists alone providing 650,000 prescriptions alongside those issued by doctors.<\/p>\n

Whilst GPs will advise patients on the appropriate duration for taking this strong painkiller – and pharmacists offer similar guidance – those purchasing co-codamol over-the-counter have been cautioned against prolonged use.<\/p>\n

Lower-strength co-codamol can be purchased from chemists without requiring a prescription. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter<\/a> here<\/p>\n

The NHS<\/a> alert warns: “If you’ve bought co-codamol from a pharmacy, do not use it for more than three days.<\/p>\n

“If your pain has not gone away, talk to a pharmacist or doctor.<\/p>\n

“If you need to take co-codamol for a long time, your body can become tolerant to the codeine in it.<\/p>\n

“That means you need higher doses to control your pain over time.<\/p>\n

“Some people can become more sensitive to pain (hyperalgesia).<\/p>\n

“If this happens, your doctor will reduce your dose gradually to help these symptoms.<\/p>\n

“It’s possible to become addicted to the codeine in co-codamol.<\/p>\n

“For this reason, your dose will be reviewed to make sure you’re only taking the amount you need to control your pain.<\/p>\n

“Your treatment plan may include details of how and when you’ll stop taking co-codamol.<\/p>\n

“If you’re having treatment for cancer pain or other severe pain, your pain control will be carefully monitored.<\/p>\n

“Speak to your doctor if you’re worried about tolerance, hyperalgesia or becoming addicted.”<\/p>\n

Co-codamol faces restrictions or outright bans in certain countries, primarily due to its codeine content, which is classified as an opioid.<\/p>\n

Regulations differ based on local codeine control measures, reports the Mirror<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the United States, codeine is classified as a controlled substance and co-codamol cannot be purchased without prescription.<\/p>\n

Comparable limitations exist in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and several European nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tens of millions of co-codamol prescriptions are dispensed each yearCo-codamol tablets are used by millions across the UK…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,104,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-167438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-nhs","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}