Health - Is paracetamol dangerous & can you suggest a non-toxic alternative?

[Alfa]

Is taking paracetamol daily dangerous?


Dose is 1000mg once or twice daily.

The reason I am asking is that I have a friend who is pregnant and suffering from RLS (Restless Legs Syndrome) to the point where she is extremely sleep deprived unless she takes 2 panadine once or twice a night. Each pill contains 500mg paracetamol and 8mg codeine. She does not care for the paracetamol but the small amount of codeine is enough to settle her symptoms and give her some rest/sleep/peace at night.

Previously she was on a bunch of prescribed medication for her RLS but she had to stop taking it all when she found out she was pregnant as none of it was safe to take during pregnancy. Fortunately her RLS symptoms settled down but now as she is the final stage of pregnancy it has flared back up and she is finding it difficult to cope without some type of medication. The past 4 nights she has taken 2-4 panadine tablets at night, but she thought this treatment would only be safe for her baby and her liver for a few nights.

Yesterday she had an appointment with her OB who informed her that she could take panadine every night till the end of her pregnancy and that it is perfectly safe. I find this hard to believe so thought I would come to the experts here for some advice. She may be able to get a prescription for low dose codeine, but her doctor has always been reluctant to prescribe her anything that has addictive potential due to her addiction history. She would prefer to put as little in her body as possible, and as the paracetamol does not help her RLS she would like to feel confident that it is totally safe to take daily, both for her and baby. If not she will definitely be pushing for prescription for something safe, or taking the alternative and going mad from sleep deprivation!

If anyone has some factual evidence or research on daily use of paracetamol please post it below.