Side Effects of Aspirin

Side Effects

On any one day, many millions of people around the world take aspirin. The last century of such use has confirmed its safety profile and progress has been made in developing products which are even better tolerated. However, no drug is wholly without unwanted effects.

Aspirin's side effects, such as stomach trouble, occur more often with higher doses and with long term use. At very high doses, dizziness, ringing in the ears and vomiting occur.

Indigestion

Less than six in every 100 people taking the usual painkilling dose of aspirin find that the drug "upsets their stomach". They complain that aspirin causes dyspepsia, heartburn, nausea and more rarely vomiting. Such complaints are minimised by taking aspirin after a meal.

Bleeding

In some people aspirin has been reported to irritate the stomach lining causing a small amount of blood to be lost, the amount being no more than would be lost by a small graze. Occasionally, someone who has taken aspirin loses more blood than this.

However, a large American study has shown that aspirin taken in the normal way for headaches or colds rarely causes bleeding. Large doses of aspirin may make a peptic ulcer worse.

Allergy-like Reactions

True allergy to aspirin has not been established. About one person in 500 develops a reaction to aspirin which shows itself as an intense itch or asthma. People with chronic hives - "urticaria" - may become worse with aspirin, and should avoid it.

In Pregnancy

Pregnant women are advised to avoid all drugs, including home remedies, tobacco and alcohol wherever possible. For this reason, they should not take aspirin unless there are special circumstances such as those described earlier, when it can be used to protect mother and foetuses against toxaemia.

Reye's Syndrome

In some countries there are restrictions on the use of aspirin in children under 16 except on the advice of a doctor. This very rare illness seems to occur after feverish virus infections such as influenza or chickenpox.

Although the direct association may be open to argument, aspirin product manufacturers in these countries decided to withdraw special children's Formulations of Aspirin-containing products from the market.