Soluble paracetamol advice needed please

Thinking about it the taste of a paracetamol tablet is vile if you happen to leave it in your mouth a bit too long.

Hmm, I'm beginning to think the GP's suggestion was the equivalent of saying there's bugger all s/he can do about the sore throat until they can sort out the cause of the coughing.

That is probably true bags. In fact I think the doc said something along the lines of 'in the meantime you could try gargling with soluble paracetamol'. Don't want to tell DH that it's probably nothing more than a placebo - he needs to feel he's doing something positive that will help!

Paracetamol works by being absorbed via the stomach and would not work unless swallowed. No idea why a GP would suggest this but it has no medical basis. It is dangerous to open capsules as the reason the contents are inside the capsule is to prevent irritation etc to the digestive tract on the way down and so they are absorbed in the right place. To soothe a sore throat you need something with local anaesthetic in it and there are lozenges with this - otherwise honey and lemon as suggested or similar. Glad he is having an X Ray though and hope he is ok x

Is it because by gargling and not swallowing you are putting a painkiller on the throat directly and it is more effective than swallowing a tablet?

Hi Indiana, I would suggest 2 paracetamol swallowed three or four times a day and buy a pain relieving throat spray( has some local anaesthetic in it)from local chemist plus plenty of fluids. We often recommend gargling with soluble aspirin ( depending on medical history) and then swallowing the mixture but not particularly with paracetamol. Hope hubby is feeling better soon.

Oh thank you so much mumofmadboys. I shall read your response out to him.
And thank you everyone for your help .

I shall report back any developments, although I understand it is currently taking about 6 weeks for chest X-ray results to be forwarded to our GPs. And he can't even ring to make the appointment until Tuesday, as he's been told to allow two working days for the referral to reach the X-ray department. So it could be a long wait .

Indinana, hopefully if the sputum is just tinged with blood it is likely to be from infection and inflammation. The chest x ray will be to check there is nothing serious underlying it and to check there is no serious infection. If the tinging of blood gets less over the next couple of days that is reassuring. Hopefully within a few days he will feel a lot better.

How about strepsils they have some that have a local anaesthetic I think ,ice follies.

We had to buy some paracetamol in Italy last week and they cost over five euros (we normally pay 28p in Tesco).

Sorry, off-thread, but I felt the need to share

I think Dequadin has a local anaesthetic in it. They are tablets and you suck them.

Oh yes, blinko! My mum used to give us those for sore throats. I'd forgotten Dequadin. And they came in those satisfying little metallic tubes.

Yes Dequadin are very good - might try to get some tomorrow. I always used to keep them in for sore throats, also for toothache because of the anaesthetic properties. I'd forgotten all about them!

Maggiemaybe . Shows I do the right thing in taking contents of bathroom cabinet with me, just in case.

That's what I'll be doing in future jingl. So much for travelling light

Lemsip and similar cold remedies contain soluble paracetamol as well as a mild decongestant. It's easy enough to gargle with it before swallowing it. But beware, some of these preparations also contain caffeine.

Well he had a chest X-ray last week. His throat had improved considerably and he was hardly seeing any sign of blood in his sputum, so was feeling a lot more relaxed.
Then today his GP rang because the X-ray results had arrived. They want him to have another X-ray as the first one wasn't clear/conclusive.
Now he's frantic with worry and I'm trying like mad to be all casual about it and telling him that the time to worry is when we know there's something to worry about. And that time is not now. It may have just been that the X-ray was not very clear. Well that's what I'm saying to him, anyway, but inside I'm just as worried as him, obviously

I used bicarbonate dissolved in water when my mouth was very sore this was on advice from chemo nurse

It might have been a poor quality XR Indiana if your hubby breathed in at the wrong moment. When is the repeat XRay Straight away or after a week or two? It might show some infection which is resolving. Was your hubby a smoker? A lot of possibilities but too early to worry. Hopefully will all amount to nothing. Try and keep calm.I t is a positive sign that the blood in the sputum is clearing.x

Thanks for the lovely calm voice of reassurance mumomb. The appointment for the X-ray will be sent to him, so don't know when. DH was a smoker until about 15 years ago. He'd smoked cigars, about 3-4 a day, for going on 30 years, since giving up cigarettes. But he did inhale .
Still, I will try not to worry. And try to make sure he is occupied!!

I have sent you a PM and will try and get your name right in future Indinana!

Thank you mumomb - I have sent you a reply. And don't worry about the name, my own silly fault for choosing something that people are bound to trip over!