Often, patients tend to self-medicate, having hardly felt that they are getting a cold, flu or other infections. It seems to many that there are a number of safe drugs that you can drink without going to a doctor for advice. For some reason, this group of "safe" medicines, as a rule, is headed by acetylsalicylic acid. The side effects of this drug, most of these patients are not even taken to study and are very surprised when, instead of positive dynamics, they worsen their health. Doctors themselves advise using these pills very carefully, as they can be quite dangerous for a certain group of people. And even more so you should not drink them for any ailment. In the article we will consider what acetylsalicylic acid is, the side effects and complications caused by it, as well as a list of indications for admission.
A little about a drug familiar from childhood
If our mothers and grandmothers imagined all the side effects of acetylsalicylic acid, we would not give it at the slightest complaint of a headache and suspicion of a cold. The apparent safety of the drug with its real high effectiveness leads to its frequent and uncontrolled use, which, in turn, causes the development of various diseases.
If you do not touch on the side effects of acetylsalicylic acid, and give it a brief description, then we can say that the medicine has antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. This makes the tablets an indispensable component of a first-aid kit, and besides, they cost mere pennies.
The active substance of the drug upon closer examination has a crystalline structure. They resemble small needles with a faint smell. The taste of the drug is close to slightly acidic.
The instructions for the use of acetylsalicylic acid tablets noted that they are extremely poorly soluble in water at room temperature. If you still need to take the drug in liquid form, then pour into a glass of hot water and the tablet will easily dissolve in it. Pharmacists are well aware that ethanol and solutions of certain alkalis give the same effect. However, such an experiment is strictly prohibited.
Acetylsalicylic acid tablets (we will talk about side effects a bit later) are round with a risk. The color of the drug resembles white marble, and no deviations are allowed from this shade.
Composition and form of release
In reviews of acetylsalicylic acid, patients never even touch upon questions of its form of release. And this is quite natural, because from the first moment of its appearance on the drugstore shelves, the drug was produced only in the form of tablets. In the eighties, effervescent aspirin was popular, as acetylsalicylic acid is also called in common people. Today you can buy one and the other version of the medicine. However, pharmacists themselves still advise adults to take acetylsalicylic acid in tablets.
The instructions for use always indicate the complete composition of the drug. Its active ingredient is acetylsalicylic acid. Each tablet contains five hundred milligrams.
Also, do not forget about auxiliary components. There are not too many of them, so an allergy to the drug is extremely rare. The list of additional substances includes:
- povidone;
- stearic acid;
- talc;
- potato starch;
- lactose monohydrate.
All of these components are in tablets in a very low concentration. Usually we are talking about thousandths, so many patients do not even waste time carefully studying the composition of the drug.
Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics
The main effects of acetylsalicylic acid on the patient’s body are provided by some of its properties. We will talk about them in detail in this section.
When taken orally, acetylsalicylic acid reaches its maximum concentration after about two hours. It is worth considering that the drug penetrates very easily into all tissues, cells and body fluids.
Metabolism of substances occurs in the liver, but metabolites as a result of laboratory tests can be detected in the urine and tissues of the patient. Up to sixty percent of the drug is excreted through the kidneys. If acetylsalicylic acid was taken in small quantities, then it will be completely eliminated from the body after about three hours. At high doses of the drug, this time interval will increase to thirty hours. The average time to remove substances from the patient's body is fifteen hours.
It is worth noting that the tablets are very rapidly absorbed, falling into the patient’s gastrointestinal tract. Almost eighty percent of the substances bind to plasma proteins, which indicates a high activity of acetylsalicylic acid. In reviews, patients often write that they experienced relief literally thirty minutes after taking the medicine.
Indications for use
Acetylsalicylic acid may be indicated for certain health problems. All of them are divided into two groups:
Often, pain overtakes a person suddenly and violates his usual rhythm of life. Therefore, most people use painkillers, among which our drug is far from the last. You can drink acetylsalicylic acid for pain in the joints, muscles and throat. The medicine is effective also for headaches, and in addition to them, tablets can also remove characteristic unpleasant sensations in women during menstruation. Often, the drug also relieves toothache, which falls into the list of the most difficult to tolerate by a person.
When we talk about an increase in body temperature, it is possible to take acetylsalicylic acid (adults can find a lot of useful information in the instructions for use) only after reaching the age of fifteen. The drug is effective for colds and infectious diseases. However, in these cases, it only reduces the temperature, but does not neutralize the very cause of its occurrence.
It is worth considering that even with the intended use of acetylsalicylic acid, side effects are likely even with a single pill.
Who should not drink the drug?
The drug has a very wide list of contraindications. Some of them belong to the category of explicit, and for others, taking pills should be treated with great caution.
First of all, those patients who suffer from hypersensitivity to the drug should abandon aspirin. She may not go into allergies, but in any case will bring a lot of discomfort.
Acetylsalicylic acid is a very strong irritant to the gastric mucosa. Therefore, with problems with the digestive system, you should refrain from taking pills. This is especially true of ulcerative lesions of the gastrointestinal tract, gastric bleeding and other similar diseases.
Bronchial asthma is also a contraindication to treatment and a single dose of the drug. If this disease is combined with other respiratory problems, even one tablet can cause side effects.
In the instructions for the use of acetylsalicylic acid, it is specifically noted that the medicine is contraindicated in expectant mothers and women who are breast-feeding a baby. We will talk about this in more detail a little later.
Separately, it is necessary to talk about the use of the drug by children. In no case should tablets be given to babies under the age of fifteen to normalize body temperature. This age limit should be taken into account when diagnosing viral diseases. If the recommendation is not followed, then a small patient may have Reine syndrome. And this threatens the child with grave consequences.
Relative contraindications
In some diseases, acetylsalicylic acid can be drunk, but constant medical supervision is required during treatment. This category includes health problems in which blood thinners are prescribed.
Allergy addiction is a relative contraindication to aspirin. Moreover, depending on the severity of the disease, the dosage of the drug also varies.
Hepatic and renal failure may be the reasons that slow down the removal of the drug from the body. This leads to a number of health problems, therefore, during the treatment with acetylsalicylic acid, the patient should regularly visit his doctor.
Harmfulness to medicines for the fetus and infants
Earlier, we noted that it is strictly forbidden to drink the drug for future mothers. It negatively affects the development of the fetus and leads to various deviations. If you drink tablets in the first trimester, then the risk of splitting the upper palate in the baby is high.
And in the third trimester, side effects of acetylsalicylic acid include inhibition of labor, problems with blood circulation of the crumbs, improper development of the vascular system of the lungs.
Young mothers should know that the drug passes into breast milk very easily. Therefore, the baby receives it during meals in a sufficiently large amount. Due to this, platelet function is impaired. The most common consequence of this problem is a high risk of bleeding.
Instructions for use
We think our readers already understand that acetylsalicylic acid is not at all such a simple and harmless remedy. Therefore, the selection of its dosage must be approached very seriously.
Adult patients (these include children over the age of fifteen) can take from two hundred fifty to five hundred milligrams of a drug for a single dose. If necessary, you can increase the dosage to one thousand milligrams. However, if possible, such situations should be avoided.
A patient should not take more than three tablets per day. The interval between them should be set at four o’clock.
In certain diseases, children over fifteen years of age can be brought a daily dose of up to one and a half thousand milligrams. Adults, after consulting a doctor, can briefly take up to three thousand milligrams of the drug per day.
Often, the drug is taken as an anesthetic without the recommendation of a doctor. In such situations, treatment longer than five days is unacceptable. If after this period no improvement has come, then you should contact the clinic. Those who drink pills as an antipyretic should limit the course of treatment to three days. Further, a doctor's examination is required.
Children from six years of age can drink acetylsalicylic acid, but only with the exception of possible diseases, acute respiratory viral infections. However, the dosage for the child should be reduced. At the reception, half of one tablet will be enough for him.
The drug is very irritating to the walls of the stomach, so it should not be taken on an empty stomach. It is safer to do this after eating. Interestingly, the tablets can be washed down not only with plain water. They are well tolerated with milk or mineral water. It is better to take an alkaline mineral water for these purposes.
Doctors recommend strictly observing the intervals between tablets. Thus, the patient will avoid sudden increases in body temperature and the sudden return of pain.
List of adverse reactions
The human body can respond to the drug completely differently. Moreover, a whole complex of negative reactions are often found, exacerbating the well-being of the patient. They are especially amplified with the uncontrolled use of tablets.
On the part of the digestive system, side effects of acetylsalicylic acid include manifestations such as stool disorders (diarrhea and constipation), stomach pain, and nausea. Also during the treatment process, other problems are often encountered: gastric bleeding, erosion, vomiting and heartburn. Many patients complain of complete or partial loss of appetite.
Side effects of acetylsalicylic acid include tinnitus. Often it is accompanied by a headache, problems with hearing and vision.
If the patient takes the drug for a long time, then it may encounter the development and aggravation of vascular diseases. In the presence of heart failure, in almost a hundred percent of cases, the symptoms of the disease intensify.
Any patient in the process of treatment with acetylsalicylic acid has a high risk of bleeding. Also a very common side effect are kidney problems. They can be expressed in renal failure, the development of nephritis and nephrotic edema. All of these reactions are accompanied by edema of varying degrees.
Acetylsalicylic acid can cause an allergic reaction. In different patients, it manifests itself in its own way. For example, skin reactions such as rash, itching, and minor swelling of the tissues are possible. However, Quincke's edema and even bronchospasm are possible.
The use of the drug with other drugs
Doctors, prescribing acetylsalicylic acid to the patient, always ask questions about the drugs that he already takes. This precaution is related to the fact that the medicine we are describing does not combine well with other medicines. Therefore, you should not drink pills without consulting a doctor.
For example, while taking heparin and acetylsalicylic acid, the risk of bleeding increases several times. Their danger lies in the fact that they often have an internal character.
When combined with anti-inflammatory drugs, acetylsalicylic acid can cause severe damage to the gastric mucosa.
We have given only a few possible examples of the unsuccessful combination of the medicine we describe with others. Therefore, even if you think that one tablet of acetylsalicylic acid will not do you harm, it is better not to risk your health and seek medical advice.