Chemist suffering from flu is killed by half a paracetamol tablet

A chemist shop worker suffering from flu died after accid­entally overdosing on paracetamol - by just half a tablet, an inquest heard.

Deborah Robinson suffered liver and kidney failure after taking sixteen-and-a-half pills in two days.

The 37-year-old, who had not been taking any other over-the-counter remedies, sought help after realising the mistake but died five days later.

Doctors recommend that no more than eight tablets should be taken within 24 hours.

‘If you’re in pain and reaching for the tablets, you can reach your limit in 24 hours without realising it,’ said Anne Joshua, NHS Direct chief pharmacist.

Mrs Robinson, who worked in a chemist’s shop, realised she had overdosed and went to hospital near her home in Limavady, Co Londonderry on February 20.

She was sent to King’s College Hospital in London and, at first, appeared to be getting better.

But, acc­ording to her grieving husband, Martin, she ‘started getting very distressed, she couldn’t get her breath’.

The landscape gardener, told Southwark Coroners Court, said: ‘Lynne was quite persistent about it because she worked in the chemists, so we went to Causeway Hospital.

‘When her test results had come through, that’s when alarm bells started ringing, and she was transferred to King’s College Hospital.

‘They explained that she could actually die.’

Once she was in King’s College Hospital, Mr Robinson said his wife’s condition appeared to improve.

‘At five o’clock that evening she was sitting up in bed having a cup of tea,’ he said.

‘As far as I was concerned Lynne was doing well. She was making progress.’

After that, however, Mrs Robinson’s health worsened.

‘At 8 o’clock she started getting very distressed, she couldn’t get her breath.

‘The whole way through this she was conscious.

‘she was very brave and very scared.’

Mrs Robinson was able to breathe more easily when she was sitting up, but her condition continued to deteriorate and she was taken into intensive care.

She had increasing difficulty breathing and suffered from two massive heart attacks.

The inquest heard she was suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and doctors were unable to get oxygen into her blood stream and she died on February 25.

Mr Robinson described the medical care his wife received while in hospital as ‘very, very good.’

Coroner John Sampson recorded a verdict of accidental death due to liver failure caused by an unintentional paracetamol overdose.

He said: ‘I’m particularly grateful for those of you who have come over from Northern Ireland today, and I do hope you will extend my condolences to Mrs Robinson’s other friends and family.’

Ms Joshua said there were no plans to reduce the recommended dose. But she warned: ‘Overdosing on paracetamol is extremely easy to do without noticing.’

Last year, model Laura Bates, 19, needed an emergency liver transplant after accidentally overdosing on Lemsip.

Advisory body the Commission on Human Medicines said: ‘Unfortunately, there is no medication that is 100 per cent safe.’