Aspirin, one of the first drugs to come into common usage, is probably the most widely used drug inthe world. Approximately 35,000 metric tons are produced and consumed each year, enough to make over 100 billion standard aspirin tablets. It is estimated that over one trillion aspirin tablets have been consumed in the past 100 years. Each year over 60 billion aspirin tablets are taken worldwide with Americans consuming 34 billion of those tablets. Presently, aspirin is most frequently prescribed for the prevention of heart disease. According to the Center for Disease Control, over 50 million Americans take aspirin for the prevention of heart disease. This accounts for about 350 million dollars in annual sales. It is estimated that in the next ten years, medical doctors will recommend that an additional ten million Americans should begin taking aspirin on a daily basis.
Dr. Stephen Cummings
In a review of several studies, flu sufferers who took an anti-fever medication were sick an average of 3.5 days longer than people who did not take drugs. The drugs may make the flu more bearable by relieving aches and pains, but they may make it last longer. On average, flu symptoms lasted 5.3 days in participants who did not take aspirin or acetaminophen, compared with 8.8 days in people who took the anti-fever drugs. One possibility is that reducing fever may interfere with the immune system's response to an infection, the authors note. Dr. Karen Plaisance, lead author and professor of pharmacy at the University of Maryland, noted that similar findings have been reported in studies of chickenpox.
Aspirin temporarily relieves the discomfort of the symptoms, but by doing so, it slows down the healing process, which prolongs the problem rather than correcting it. Additionally, aspirin causes many adverse reactions and side effects.
ASPIRIN’S SIDE EFFECTS
Bides carrying a chemical message, prostaglandins also maintain a protective lining in the stomach. Destruction of prostaglandins by aspirin destroys the stomach lining and inhibits replacement of the mucous lining.
The FDA estimates that NSAID’s, (which includes aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen) account for a reported 200,000 cases of gastrointestinal bleeding, 107,000 hospitalizations and as many as 20,000 deaths each year.
Reye’s syndrome is a deadly disease that strikes quickly and can attack any child or adult without warning. All organs are affected with the liver and the brain suffering the most damage. While the cause and cure remain unknown, epidemiologist research has established a link between Reye’s syndrome and the use of aspirin and products that contain aspirin for flu-like symptoms. The United Kingdom, in 1986 had banned the giving of aspirin products to children under the age of 12, and has recently hardened that advice to include children under the age of 16. Though it is not widely publicized, the Surgeon General, FDA and the CDC recommend that aspirin products not be given to children under the age of 19 during episodes of illness that include fever.
ASPIRIN AND BLEEDING
UNITED STATES PHARMACOPEIAL CONVENTION
Use of aspirin during the last two weeks of pregnancy may cause bleeding problems in the fetus before or during delivery or in the newborn infant. Also, too much use of aspirin during the last three months of pregnancy may increase the length of pregnancy, prolong labor, cause other problems during delivery, or cause severe bleeding in the mother before, during or after the delivery.
IN NORMAL INDIVIDUALS: 1 DOSE OF 2 REGULAR STRENGTH ASPIRIN AFFECTS NORMAL CLOTTING FOR AS LONG AS 7 DAYS.
ASPIRIN AND HEART ATTACKS
A study by the Physicians Health Group concluded that an aspirin a day was an effective preventative treatment against heart attacks. The study was published and carried by leading magazines and newspapers all over the world. The drug industry launched an extensive media campaign promoting this important health discovery.
What the study failed to mention was that it was conducted with buffered aspirin, which contains magnesium. Magnesium is a valuable mineral which has long been associated with the prevention of heart attacks. Follow-up studies revealed that aspirin alone did nothing to prevent heart attacks. Sadly, the results of the follow-up studies received little media attention.
A study in the International Journal of Epidemiology reported that serum magnesium levels are inversely related to the risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Serum magnesium concentration, independent of other risk factors, was inversely associated with death from all causes and from heart disease.
A study in the Lancet reported that magnesium deficiency may also be implicated in coronary heart disease when it was revealed that injections of magnesium sulfate brought about dramatic clinical improvement in patients suffering from heart disease and in many cases the lipoprotein levels were brought back to normal levels.”
Should You Take Aspirin to Prevent Heart Attack?
The majority of physicians in the USA recommend aspirin for prevention of first heart attacks to almost everyone over the age of 50, even though women have not been included in the clinical trials of aspirin. While aspirin does prevent about 1/3 of first heart attacks, its side-effects are so severe as to cause a higher death rate overall than placebo. Non-fatal side-effects, such as internal bleeding and cataracts, are significant after years of aspirin use. The major study on which most recommendations are based did not utilize aspirin alone; therefore, the calcium and magnesium present in the buffered aspirin actually taken may have been responsible for some of the beneficial effects. Supplemental magnesium and vitamin E have been shown to be more effective than aspirin in lowering heart attack rates as well as over all death rates. Aspirin does reduce the incident of second heart attacks by about 1/5 when taken for a few weeks. Supplemental magnesium and coenzyme Q10 have been shown to be more effective than aspirin in treatment of cardio vascular disease.
“Some physicians contend that the evidence of aspirin's efficacy for prevention is over stated and that its risks are underestimated. One vocal critic, John Cleland, MD, said that his interpretation of the data shows that the therapy reduces only the number of diagnosed heart attacks, not attacks overall. In an editorial in the Jan.12,2002, British Medical Journal (BMJ), he explained that aspirin merely masks heart attacks, producing a "cosmetic" blip in epidemiological statistics. How could aspirin hide a heart attack?Dr. Cleland, professor of cardiology at the University of Hullin Great Britain, said that 25% of people who have what later turn out to be a heart attack don't recognize the signs anyway. Because aspirin can be an analgesic, it may further mask those symptoms. In addition, he said, some of the symptoms patients think are dyspepsia caused by aspirin may actually be due to a heart attack.”
NON-ASPIRIN PAIN KILLERS
“An estimated 19.2 million Americans have stage 1, 2, 3 or 4 stage kidney disease."
New England Journal of Medicine
Acetaminophen, sold under brand names such as Tylenol and Anacin 3, is used to relieve pain and fever. It’s use has been associated with digestive disorders & liver disease.
FDA probes new worry about acetaminophen overdose
CONCLUSION
Effective Marketing has given consumers the perception that aspirin and other over-the-counterpain relievers are harmless drugs, but there is much evidence to suggest just the opposite. Medical research nearly always supports drug usage, which is not surprising, since the vast majority of medical research is funded by the drug industry. Many
safe and natural alternatives
that have proven to be effective, rarely receive positive media exposure and are often downplayed by an industry that has no financial interest in a
drug-less health
care system
