Joseph Akiki
Intro to Chemistry
Dr. Cross
4/1/14
Aspirin: Healthy or Not? Whenever pain or a headache is felt people will immediately reach for the bottle of Aspirin they have in their medicine cabinet. For many years this has been the solution to any pain a person feels. As much as Aspirin will help to cure symptoms of pain it may also being doing the body harm. More and more studies have brought many harmful side effects to the surface. The question now comes into play of if Aspirin is actually doing more harm than good.
Aspirin contains the substance acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), which can relieve inflammation, fever, pain, and known as a “blood thinner”. Aspirin was not officially trademarked until March 6, 1899 when the Imperial Office
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Before using Aspirin or any other type of medication a physician should be contacted. If not diagnosed with heart, blood vessel disease, or lack of blood to the brain the benefits of aspirin can decrease and cause more harm than good. As individuals we know that in life anything we do has benefits and risk. This is the case with all types of medicine, aspirin may prevent a heart attack or stroke but can cause stomach bleeding, bleeding in the brain, and kidney failure. Also in some cases using aspirin has caused strokes. As with most medicines taking Aspirin with alcohol can severely increase the risk of experiencing side effects. Taking aspirin as a combination with any other medications being taking should not occur unless cleared with a doctor. For example if taking a drug for dietary purposes you shouldn’t mix with aspirin …show more content…
Taking aspirin fights against inflammation by blocking an enzyme called cyclooxygenase. Doing so obstruct the pathway for prostaglandins to produce which cause the inflammation. This can decrease the amount of pain that someone is facing immensely and may even cure the problem entirely. It is seen that aspirin effects formation of blood clots in major arteries within heart and brain muscle. A doctor may prescribe aspirin as a way to allow more blood flow throughout the body. The pros and cons of using aspirin must be weighed before taking it. There may be many more risks when taking aspirin. These risks can be caused by family history, other medications being taken, and past medical
Aspirin is much more than just a pill to take for aches, it has changed life for the better. It is used for medical purposes as well as everyday household needs. If people did not know about this simple yet life-changing molecule, the world would not be the same.
People supposed to take some steps to avoid acetaminophen overdose. Always securely close the acetaminophen containers and use child proof bottles. Keep all the medication out of the reach of children. Know the correct dose and amount of drug before administration. Never mix the both medications if those contain the acetaminophen. Keep all the medications away from the family member who are being showed suicidal ideations and seek medical attention immediately. Patient should not be taken acetaminophen if he has consumed three alcoholic beverages per day as it leads to hepatotoxicity.
Painkillers have been used for many years, and they have been beneficial to many. But one that recently took the market has been the topic of many controversial discussions. Oxycodone has always been used in modern medicine but in small amounts. OxyContin contained a higher amount of oxycodone than most opiate based pain killers, the weakest dose of OxyContin had double the amount found in said painkillers (Meier 12). This lead to the spread of abuse and addiction towards the drug. And a medicine made to do nothing but help became the subject of overdose and death. The creation of OxyContin was a triumph for modern medicine and a halo of light to people with chronic pains, but this drug now seems to carry a trail of addiction and abuse along with it.
More and more we learn that by taking ibuprofen we subject ourselves to serious health conditions like heart attack or stroke. Yet, at one time or another, most of us has popped ibuprofen or administered it to a loved one to relieve pain or bring down a fever. Although no one should ever have to suffer pain, you’re certainly not limited to taking dangerous pharmaceuticals. There are alternatives for ibuprofen — and nature has the answer.
Atherosclerosis is the culprit behind coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, which is the most common cause of death worldwide and in the United States10. Among the modifiable risk factors of CHD and stroke is the serum low density lipoprotein level (LDL)8, 11. Several randomized clinical trials have established that reducing the serum LDL level results in a reduction in the future risk of CHD and stroke in a linear relationship, in one study it was estimated that reducing the LDL by 1 % would reduce the risk by 1.7 %.1-4, 7, 9, 13
“If you’re at high risk for ischemic stroke, your doctor may prescribe drugs that reduce clots by interfering with the aggregation (clumping together) of blood cells called platelets” (Prevention of a Stroke 4). Your doctor would prescribe a specific type of medication called antiplatelet drugs. Anticoagulants (blood thinners), like antiplatelets, interfere with the formation of blood clots, but they work at a different stage in the clotting process- preventing the formation of fibrin, a protein that plays a role in blood clotting. “Statin medications lower blood cholesterol levels by blocking the activity of an enzyme crucial for the production of cholesterol by the liver. These medications also help stabilize plaques- the fatty deposits in arteries that can rupture and trigger the formation of a blood clot that can lead to a stroke” (Prevention of a Stroke 18). Statins are used to lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce inflammation in the artery walls. The medications your physician prescribes will depend on how great your risk of a stroke is as well as your risk of side effects from these
Some people alternate the use of other OTC such as Aspirin, which also has other dangerous effects , but hopefully will reduce acetaminophen toxicity.
In today days Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac dysrhythmia that is often seen in clinical practice. There are 700,000 strokes in the USA each year and 15% of it caused by Atrial Fibrillation. For a long period of time warfarin was the only oral anticoagulant available in the US for patients with atrial fibrillation to prevent stroke events. Recently a new oral anticoagulants, including apixaban, dabigatran, and rivaroxaban have been developed and became available in the US for the stoke prevention and systemic embolism for patients with atrial fibrillation. Now, when all three new anticoagulants are available as an alternative to warfarin for the same indication, they make the health care providers question which agent is the best and for which patients. New agents have practical advantages over warfarin that has many limitations such as need for monitoring, regular dose adjustment, food and drug interaction and side effects. The major goal of the health care providers is to prescribe the safest and the most effective alternative drug and dose to each individual patient with AF. However, the approval for clinical use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicine Agency differ for anticoagulants and their dosages, and for the individual indication (Harenberg & Kraemer, 2012). Thus, more research needs to be done regarding the monitoring tools for new anticoagulant agents, and extend the use of these agents to other patient population.
... you should take baby aspirin (81 mg). The earlier a patient takes preventative measures the less a patient has to worry about taking other medication such Warfarin which have many adverse side effects such as excessive bleeding. Patients need to continuously check legs for any signs and symptoms of DVT.
Davies NM, Reynolds JK, Undeberg MR, Gates BJ, Ohgami Y, Vega-Villa KR. Minimizing risks of NSAIDs: cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and renal. Expert Rev Neurother. 2006 Nov;6(11):1643-55.
When it is taken correctly, the side effects are considered to be rare [9]. This type of drug can be a great alternative for pain relief for those who are known to be at a risk of heart disease or even stomach problems [9]. There have also been studies that show improvement for treatment of depression and anxiety [10]. Overall, while acetaminophen is wildly being used, some possible fallbacks should be
Stroke is a serious medical condition that affects people of all ages specifically older adults. People suffer from a stroke when there is decreased blood flow to the brain. Blood supply decreases due to a blockage or a rupture of a blood vessel which then leads to brain tissues dying. The two types of stroke are ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. An ischemic stroke is caused by a blood clot blocking the artery that brings oxygenated blood to the brain. On the other hand, a hemorrhagic stroke is when an artery in the brain leaks or ruptures (“About Stroke,” 2013). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of adult disability” (“About Stroke,” 2013). Stroke causes a number of disabilities and also leads to decreased mobility in over half of the victims that are 65 and older. The CDC lists several risk factors of stroke such as heredity, age, gender and ethnicity as well as medical conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and excessive weight gain that in...
One of the leading causes of death in the United States is heart disease. “Approximately every 29 seconds one American will have a heart attack, and once a minute one American will die from a heart attack” (Ford-Martin and Odle, 915). According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 55 are considered at risk for heart disease. Heart disease is a major cause of death. It is beneficial to individuals who seek to prevent heart disease to recognize the risks leading to heart attacks as they are one of the primary indications of developing heart disease; especially those that fall into the at risk age groups. These risks consist of some that cannot be changed such as heredity risks, or those that can change such as smoking habits. It is very important to know these specific risks for prevention and to understand the symptoms of heart attacks, such as sweating or the feeling of weakness so if these or other symptoms occur people are aware. Finally heart disease treatment is of vital importance if you experience a heart attack so you can learn how to prevent another one from occurring.
"An aspirin a day keeps the doctor away." Although this saying can be true, it is not only aspirin that can cure the pains of life, but also several other types of analgesics. There are a wide variety of analgesics. More commonly known as painkillers. The narcotic analgesics act on the central nervous system and change the user's perception; they are more often used for severe pain and can make the user develop an addiction. The nonnarcotic analgesics, known as over the counter or OTC, work at the site of the pain. These do not create tolerance or dependence and do not vary the user's perception. OTC's are more commonly used everyday to treat mild pain.
The talk about prescription painkillers prescribed by doctors are starting to be widely debated whether they’re doing more good than harm. The debate on whether painkillers are good for the human health has came into a mild and somewhat highly discussed topic within the last decade. At first prescribed painkillers were thought to be good, but these prescribed painkillers have always been like a double edge sword usually doing better than bad. The side effects from the painkillers used to be very minimal; for example the common side effects were drowsiness, nausea and vomiting, but since the world is a constantly developing place new painkillers are constantly being developed and so are their side effects” ("Types of Pain Medications on RxList.com." RxList. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2014.’). Not only are the side effects becoming worst, but people are becoming severely addicted to them and in some cases their addiction is lethal and not only kills them, but it can also tear a family apart or put a family in great financial debt because of one person addiction. Now when something that been created to do good starts to be questioned whether it’s actually still good or not is major problem majority of the time.