Mum dies of liver failure after overdosing on Lemsip

A mother has tragically died from liver failure - after accidentally overdosing on LEMSIP. Joan Ita Bergin, 58, was suffering a cough and a bad chest in December last year.

She had been drinking Lemsip sachets to manage the symptoms. The mum was rushed to Royal Preston Hospital before she sadly died.

She had been vomiting coffee-coloured bile and tests revealed she had 'significantly elevated' liver enzymes and low oxygen levels. Her son Matthew called emergency services as her condition deteriorated over Christmas.

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Assistant Coroner Kate Bisset said: "He says his mum was in good health normally but she rarely ate much, one full meal per week, and otherwise she would snack on things such as marmalade on toast. She drank plenty of water but had on occasions fainted due to lack of food."

The cause of death was given as multiple organ failure, pneumonia and acute liver failure secondary to unintentional paracetamol overdose. The coroner said: "Joan Ita Bergin died on January 7, 2022, at the Royal Preston Hospital of multiple organ failure caused by an unintentional paracetamol overdose."

The inquest heard that Mrs Bergin was drinking a sachet of Lemsip every four hours but also told doctors she had taken more than the recommended amount of paracetamol at times, reports LancsLive. The recommended maximum dose of Lemsip is one sachet, containing 1,000mg of paracetamol, every four to six hours.

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