The Poison Control Centre has announced that the number of calls relating to paracetamol poisoning increased in 2022.
According to the centre’s annual report published on Monday, the centre received a total of 61,699 calls to its freephone number last year, 1% more than in 2021.
In 2022, the centre received 53,564 calls related to poisonings and 8,135 concerned requests for information.
The total number of calls recorded in 2022 is therefore slightly higher than in 2021, which was 61,029, but lower than in the record year of 2020 when the centre received 65,308 calls.
The majority of calls concerned the use of medicines – with 23,873 calls made in 2022. This is an increase of 4.6% over one year and 3.8% over five years.
The number of calls relating to paracetamol amounted to 2,640 in 2022, representing an increase of one-third over five years. Normal use of the drug poses no risk and is therefore available without a prescription, but an overdose can affect the liver.
Effective prevention campaigns
Exposure to household products accounted for 10,462 calls last year, a fall of 3.6% over the last five years, which can be explained in particular by prevention campaigns. The biggest fall was in calls relating to laundry detergent (-35.1%) and dishwashers capsules (-19.8%).
Over the past five years, meanwhile, exposure to food supplements (+30%), chocolate (+121%) as well as plants (+23.4%) has increased significantly.
In addition, 6,630 calls for a total of 6,861 relating to poisoning of animals were also recorded in 2022, mostly after they had eaten chocolate, an increase of 40% in five years.
In emergencies, the Poison Control Centre can be reached at: +3270245245
