Learning new things

Here's to Wikipedia, the font of all useless knowledge, for expanding my pharmaceutical lexicon.

I was at Superdrug today, examining their paltry cold and flu offerings, when I found Sudafed and something called Lemsip, which resembles Theraflu. I brought both home for a little cocktail, then bothered to read the back of the Sudafed box. "Contains Paracetamol," it warned me, then advised me not to mix it with any similar products, and to seek immediate medical advice in the event of an overdose, "even if you feel well."

Okay...

The Lemsip, however, was also high in this Paracetamol, and its warning told me that an overdose can increase the risk of liver damage.

So, paracetamol is a fancy British term for alcohol, right?

Or not. I checked Wikipedia, which explained to me that paracetamol is another term for acetaminophen, which I recognzied as the active ingredient in Tylenol. A toxic dose of acetaminophen is roughly 10 grams in a 24-hour period. I halved the Sudafed dosage and paired it with a Lemsip packet, which gave me a whopping 950 mg of the stuff.

Hasn't done much good yet, but at least the Kleenex is hanging in there.