Student nearly dies after accidental paracetamol overdose
A university student was left on life support in hospital after accidentally taking two different medications containing paracetamol.
Riley Lubas, 20, thought he was just suffering from the infamous freshers' flu during his first year at the University of Bath in March 2025.
A couple of days after taking two different over-the-counter medicines containing paracetamol to treat his heavy cold, he was experiencing severe stomach pains and struggling to keep any food down. He called 111 on the advice of his flatmates and soon ended up in hospital.
Doctors acted quickly and informed Riley that his liver had started to fail, and the youngster was soon put on life support after going into multiple organ failure.
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Riley, a bartender from Newport, Wales, said: "It was mad how quickly it all escalated.
"Because I was already sick, when my stomach hurt I just assumed I'd caught a stomach bug, so I didn't notice the pain in my liver specifically."
His parents, Chris and Kate, rushed up from Newport to be with their son, who had been placed on the top of the UK's liver transplant list.
They watched as their son gradually deteriorated over the next few hours until he was delirious and hallucinating.
Chris said: "At that point, they decided to transfer him to King's College Hospital where they have a specialised ICU.
"By 6pm that night, he was sedated and on life support and dialysis in multiple organ failure.
"The staff there were able to finally tell us how bad it had gotten. His liver was failing, which led to a spike in his heart rate from the stress on his body.
"He also had about 24 to 48 hours' worth of fluids in his brain, so they were concerned about that. Then his lungs and kidneys stopped working too.
"We were so distressed and had no idea how this could have happened so quickly."
Miraculously, Riley's liver began to improve by itself and around a week later he was successfully taken off life support and dialysis, despite doctors previously warning that the damage could be irreversible.
He spent the next six weeks at King's College ICU, where he had to relearn to walk and talk, before he was transported to another ICU near his home in Newport.
Chris said: "We were amazed to see his improvement.
"He'd had a tracheostomy, so he needed to learn how to speak again, and because of how many organs shut down had to relearn walking too.
"But just seeing him up and alive again was unbelievable.
"There's no exact answer for why it happened this way, but the doctors did think that his health and age would have supported the liver's recovery."
Riley, who was simply relieved to come out of the other side after a terrifying experience, is now back to full health and is continuing his work as a bartender.
Meanwhile, his parents recently completed a 50km walk and raised over £3,000 for King's College ICU, as well as raising awareness of the dangers of paracetamol overdose.
James Moorhouse