A man experienced devastating effects after taking 1,176 ibuprofen tablets in one month.
While a lot of us will reach for painkillers as a quick fix, especially when dealing with an ongoing health condition, one man’s case is a stark warning of knowing when to stop and seek medical advice.
Taking too many painkillers in a short space of time can have damaging consequences to your health.
And this was the case for one 34-year-old man, who is known as SB.
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In a YouTube video uploaded by a content creator who goes by Chubbyemu, the clip explained how SB was a keen runner.
Due to this, the man often had his fair share of aches and pains and would regularly take ibuprofen as a way to curb the pain.
At first, SB would have seven of the painkillers within a 24 hour window but soon began relying on the medication more and more.
For a couple of weeks, he was consuming as many as 28 tablets a day, which is massively in excess of the recommended adult dosage of one or two 200mg tablets, three times a day.
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SB continued doing this until one day when he swallowed a handful of ibuprofen and realised they didn’t seem to go all the way down, as he complained that they felt ‘stuck in his chest’.
His condition took a turn when he started experiencing sharp chest pains - but instead of seeking help, he consumed even more to help with the pain.
He also began tasting blood, vomiting blood and his stools were worryingly dark.
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Eventually, he went to the hospital after struggling to urinate and experiencing dizziness, aches and fatigue.
Doctors noticed he was incredibly pale, his blood pressure would drop when he stood up and that his heart rate was through the roof.
They also discovered that he was experiencing haematemesis, which suggests a patient is bleeding internally and vomiting blood as a result.
Further tests revealed his excessive ibuprofen use had caused ulcers in his oesophagus and his stomach which had begun to bleed, on top of the fact that his kidneys were failing.
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Doctors had to perform urgent dialysis treatment to fix SB's kidneys as well as cauterisation to stop the bleeding.
Thankfully, he made a full recovery.
According to the NHS, you should always follow your doctor or pharmacist’s advice and the instructions that come with your medicine.