Is it a wonder drug and is it for everyone?

If used properly, and for the right cause, aspirin can be a wonder, yes.
However, if used incorrectly (taking more than allocated, or for no reason at all)
can have a terrible effect.

As silly as this sounds, it is true: Excessive consumption of aspirin can result in nightmares.

Some people are allergic to aspirin. I have found that if you take an aspirin a day it loosens blood flow and ensures that blood flows reguralay and freely throughout your body. I have experimented with aspirin to relieve a toothache when I was younger and as Tex TYPE has mentioned taking to much aspirin is not good and can cause stomach upset and interfere with regular bowel movements.

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"There is one thing that organized religion is not qualified to teach and that is an individual's purpose."-GOD

The very first thing to mention about acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) is that it would never have been FDA approved under today's rules. Some people are allergic to it, in some people it will induce asthma attacks, and for everybody, there will be a (mostly unnoticed, but anyway) seepage of blood from the gastric lining, and the occasional nose bleed. In one not very common species of rodents, it causes birth defects. And the research behind it... Today, countries demand testing on hundreds and hundreds of animals and organisms. Aspirin® was tested on, IIRC, two mice and one little fish. I think you have misunderstood the "blood flow" thing. ASA counteracts some blood clotting factors, which may be a bad thing in some cases, but makes it ideal for preventing strokes and/or heart infarctions caused by blood clotting. It is now standard procedure to prescribe 75-160 mg a day for people who have had a stroke or a heart infarction. But ASA does not work on the "blood flow" as such.

I never, ever heard of any action on bowel movements. But I only worked with the substance for some two years in the pharmaceutical industry, although I have followed its development for some 20 years afterwards. And no such thing is mentioned among adverse effects occurring in more than 1 case out of 1000. There is on the other hand a distinct risk of dyspeptic problems, or even gastric ulcer if used excessively. (On the third hand, ulcer is a well-known risk when using too much of the wrong kind of antacids as well.)

For general danger, there's the interesting historical fact about how people affetcted by rheumatic arthritis were told to use ASA: Start with 1 g twice a day, and increase by adding each week 1 g/day. When you experience a ringing sound in your ears (aka tinnitus), reduce the dosage by 0,5 g/day and stay there. For my maternal grandmother, it meant that her final dose was some 13 tablets @ 500 mg per day.

Subsequent to my stroke (clot type; there's also the hemorrhage type, when you probably should stay well away from ASA), I use 250 mg/day (1/2 of the cheapest standard tablet here) to prevent a second one. That's percentage-wise considerably more than the recommended dosage (see above), and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else but will tell others to listen to their physicians. OTOH, I feel that I have good arguments, and so far, no doctor to whom I have presented my theoretical reasons has dared to question my view. And I'm fine, thank you.

For another indication, there are few substances short of morphine as effecient for pain relief. But you must know how to use it, if you can take it.

Start with 1 g (twice 500 mg, or whatever it will be for your favourite brand). If the pain still is there after one or two hours, try another 1 g. If there's no relief after yet another one or two hours, don't try more. You need something else that only a physician can prescribe.

But don't panic too early; non-buffered ASA needs at least 20-30 minutes to do its job. Some buffered preparations may work in less than 10 minutes, but those should never be used for a prolonged time: they would then disturb your acid-base balance and could create more problems than those solved.

Most adults will know if they're sensitive towards ASA. If you're positive that you aren't, my advice (please note though that I'm not a health professional) is that you from the age of, say, 50, start using some 75-160 mg of ASA a day after having consulted your favourite physician about it.

If you're still young and want to have children, you should stay away from ASA, especially men. Not only compounds causing blood clotting are suppressed, but also other prostaglandins necessary for reproduction.

Wow, very informative. I had to stop taking daily aspirin, but I might take it a couple of times a week.

Very Interesting, I could never take Aspirin because it really upset my stomach. Now I have a gastric ulcer, there's no chance I can ever take it.


Thanks,

Ian

Unfortunately, yes. I'm so sorry for you; I had some gastric problems 30 years ago, so I can imagine. The standard piece of advice to ulcer patients used to be, Divorce, Move to an other location, Get another job.

In other words, avoid stress.

Lightkeeper, my initial theory was to take 1 g of ASA twice a week, to thoroughly disable the prostaglandin synthesis, and then going for it again when it started to recover. After thorough discussions with for example a seasoned chief physician (cardiology/rehab/geriatrics), I've come to the conclusion that it might be possible to inhibit the prostaglandin synthesis sufficiently using a 1 g initial dose, and then maintaining that state using a dosage like, or even less than what I use (250 mg/day).