Paracetamol
chemical compound with antipyretic and pain relieving properties
Paracetamol, or acetaminophen, is an analgesic and antipyretic agent used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. It is a widely available over-the-counter drug sold generically or under various brand names, including Tylenol and Panadol.
Paracetamol relieves pain in acute mild migraine and episodic tension headaches. At a standard dose, paracetamol slightly reduces fever, though it is inferior to ibuprofen in that respect: the benefits of its use for fever are unclear, particularly in the context of fever of viral origins. Paracetamol is effective for pain after wisdom tooth extraction, but it is less effective than ibuprofen. The combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen provides greater analgesic efficacy than either drug alone. The pain relief paracetamol provides in osteoarthritis is small and clinically insignificant. Evidence supporting its use in low back pain, cancer pain, and neuropathic pain is insufficient. Paracetamol is the first-line treatment for pain and fever in pregnancy; no causal association with neurodevelopmental disorders has been established, while untreated pain and fever can harm the mother and fetus.
At a recommended maximum daily dose for an adult of three to four grams, paracetamol is safe and effective in the short term when used as directed, with uncommon adverse effects similar to those of ibuprofen.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q57055. The Library of Congress control number is sh85000454. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Paracetamol” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.