Two blogs in one day. I never though I would see it. Well, I have recently discovered that my life is completely uninteresting so instead of only blogging once every one to two months I will start periodically giviving advice from your friendy student pharmacist. First on the list: Is Baby Aspirin Safe for a baby?
The answer is definitely not. I had a patient come to the pharmacy a few days ago asking for teething tablets so I gave them to her. Afterward she asked me to direct her to the baby aspirin. I didn't think much of it so I directed her to the baby aspirin. As she walked away I started wondering why a woman who couldn't be over 30 would want baby aspirin when it struck me that she was going to give that aspirin to her BABY! I walked up to her and ask who she was buying the medication for and she said that it was for her 8 month old. I explained to her that aspirin is not okay for babies and she had a hard time understanding why baby aspirin isn't okay for babies so that is why I have selected this topic today.I will tell you right now that there is no drug on the market with a worse name than baby aspirin. That is why they changed the name, depending on the company, they changed it to either heart healthy aspirin or low dose aspirin. They never changed anything about the actual medication, all they did was change the name. Back in 1981, yes that is right 28 years ago. They discovered that children under the age of 12 who are given aspirin have a very high chance of developing a rare but potentially deadly disease called Reye's Syndrome. It very closely mimics a bad viral infection, so many times parents don't get their kids check out until it is too late.
The main use for Baby Aspirin is to prevent blood clots. The lowest effective dose of aspirin when treating pain or fever is 325 mg whereas baby aspirin is only 81 mg. Far too little to help with fever or pain but more than enough to cause serious injury to a child. As I was saying though, if you have had a heart attack, Pulmonary Embolism, Stroke, Deep Vein Thrombosis, any other clotting event, or even if you haven't had problems but are at high risk aspirin is an effective way to prevent any future clotting events.
In addition to that, you should never put yourself on daily aspirin therapy. You should discuss it with your doctor if you think you may be at risk. Some of you may be familiar with a TV show called Oprah. Well on this show Oprah there is a doctor, Dr. Ozz, who comes a doles out free medical advice. Don't take everything he says as gospel. He advised everyone that is over 55 to take not just one but two baby aspirin everyday! While on aspirin therapy your risk of clotting events goes down, but your risk of having a serious bleeding event that can be just as dangerous goes WAY up. It has been estimated that for every one clotting event prevented by aspirin theray there are hundreds if not thousands of bleeding events CAUSED by aspirin therapy that can be just as dangerous. Bleeding events can also cause hospitalization and death so your risk of clotting problems has to be great enough to assume the risk of a bleeding problem, so once again discuss it with YOUR doctor so someone who is familiar with you and your situation is helping you make the decision.
In summation, don't give your kids aspirin at all, and don't take daily aspirin without talking to your physician.
In the 1980s, there was a big publicity campaign warning parents that giving aspirin to a child with the flu could cause the potentially deadly Reye syndrome. Aspirin sales declined sharply, as sales of acetaminophen (Tylenol, etc.) increased tremendously. But in Australia, a study of Reye syndrome cases found that six times as many of them had been using acetaminophen as had used aspirin. (Orlowski, et al., 1987)
ReplyDelete- I am sending you this because it seems likely that the Reyes syndrome issue was a hoax, to sell acetaminophen. Thanks, Susan Solomon
Thank you for daring to research it out and telling the truth--I don't trust any of the drug companies but at least aspirin has been around and never killed my kids. Blogs that mirror the lies is sad
DeleteSusan Solomon is absolutely correct. Further examination of the money trail behind various "Reyes Syndrome" studies reveals that the condition was in fact a hoax, predicated on faulty 1950's medical research. You are not qualified to give medical advice.
ReplyDeleteNick: "I read that Reye's syndrome is a hoax on the internet therefor your medical degree is invalid".
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should watch your words because you're even less qualified to be giving medical advice? Reye's syndrome is still a regular part of medical education, every med student today is aware of it. Parents, err on the side of caution, please do not give aspirin to your children.
Reyes is a very specific syndrome produced in people who have been sick for more than a few days, usually several weeks with a viral illness, who have been taking aspirin or acetaminophen throughout, and suddenly experience a drop in blood pressure/blood sugar. In the original study out of Australia, more people who had been taking acetaminophen were affected than those who had been taking aspirin, but no matter which - it had been used for a prolonged period by people who were not getting better.
ReplyDeleteThe number of cases of true Reyes syndrome, where no other conditions are present, and aspirin is implicated, is very, very small. In most cases an underlying health problem or prior negative health history is found to be the main cause. However, I would say that the continued use of any medication without a doctor's supervision, for an illness that does not go away, is always a terrible idea, and can lead to catastrophe.
If you want to 'err on the side of caution', please study Reyes syndrome carefully, and make your own decisions. Having done so, I would not hesitate to briefly use small doses of aspirin for a healthy baby, for ordinary issues such as pain from a shot, or teething etc.
Thank you for the information--I stumbled on this blog while researching for recommended dosage of aspirin for a 17 pound infant-My mom used baby aspirin, I used baby aspirin with my kids and now I am caring for my granddaughter--and she will not be vaccinated either.
DeleteThe original poster is very poorly informed.
ReplyDeleteI was recently going through some old papers with my 83 year old Mother. I came across months worth of directions written on prescription paper from my Pediatric Doctor back in 1960. For 6 months (starting 2 months after birth) I was being given 1/2 baby aspirin every 3 hrs to reduce fever. That later increased to 3/4 every 3 hours. I asked my Mother about this but she couldn't remember. What would my risks be now that I'm a 56 year old Man?
ReplyDelete