When should aspirin be taken? Indications, contraindications & side effects

Aspirin is one of the most popular drugs known to many people. With effective analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects, Aspirin is increasingly widely used. So what is aspirin? When should aspirin be taken? Or when using Aspirin should pay attention to what? All will be in today's health article of SignsSymptomsList.

What is aspirin ? When should aspirin be taken? This is one of the topics that many people are interested in today because aspirin is a drug that is used quite commonly in the treatment of many different diseases. Besides the dose of the drug, the time of taking the drug also plays a very important role in the treatment of the disease. To better understand this topic, let's first learn a little bit about Aspirin together with SignsSymptomsList!

When should aspirin be taken is a question of many people

Overview of the drug Aspirin

Aspirin is also known as Acetylsalicylic acid or Acetylsalicylate. This drug belongs to the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects. 

Pharmacodynamics: Aspirin inhibits the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX), thereby inhibiting the synthesis of chemicals that cause inflammation and pain such as prostaglandins, thromboxane and some other metabolic products. 

Pharmacokinetics: Aspirin is well absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and is excreted by the kidneys mainly as free salicylic acid and its conjugated metabolites.

Drug effects: 

• Reduce fever and relieve mild and moderate pain including: Headache, common cold , muscle aches, toothache...
• Reduce swelling and pain caused by arthritis .
• Prevent blood clots, reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack (use of aspirin 81 ).

Unwanted effects:

• For the digestive system: Nausea, vomiting, indigestion, belching, burning in the epigastrium, stomach pain, peptic ulcer, even gastrointestinal bleeding. These are common undesirable effects.
• In addition, there are some rare unwanted effects such as: Signs of an allergic reaction, signs of bleeding, signs of liver and kidney problems, muscle weakness, ringing in the ears, hearing loss, hemolytic anemia…

Indications: Aspirin is indicated for use in the following cases:

• Pain relief, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic.
• Prevention of myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction and stroke.
• Prevention and treatment of thrombosis.
• Patients with coronary stents.
• In combination with anticoagulants for patients with mechanical heart valve replacement.
• Patients after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Contraindications: Aspirin is contraindicated in the following cases:

• Hypersensitivity to any of the ingredients of the drug.
• Because of the risk of cross-allergenicity, aspirin is contraindicated in people with a history of asthma, asthma symptoms, urticaria or rhinitis when taking aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
• People with hemophilia, thrombocytopenia.
• People who have a history of or are suffering from peptic ulcers.
• Subjects with severe heart failure, liver failure, renal failure and cirrhosis.

Usage and dosage: Aspirin has 3 main dosage forms including: Tablet form, enteric coated tablet form and suppository form. Each dosage form has a different content of active ingredients, so the way to use and the dose is not the same. Dosage will depend on the user and the medical condition. For example, aspirin pH8 is often indicated for use in the prevention and treatment of thrombosis.

Aspirin pH8 is indicated for use in the prevention and treatment of thrombosis

When should aspirin be taken?

When should aspirin be taken is a question with a large number of people asking on medical forums. Aspirin is a pain reliever, antipyretic , antiplatelet, so you need to pay attention to the dosage form to choose the right time to take the drug.

• With liquid or effervescent tablets, it is necessary to take with meals because Aspirin is a very strong gastrointestinal irritant and is reduced by food.
• With aspirin tablets, do not chew, crush the tablet and drink with plenty of water immediately after eating.
• For enteric-soluble film-coated aspirin, it must be taken on an empty stomach, with a full glass of water so that the drug does not stay long in the stomach but is quickly pushed down the intestines. In this case, you should usually take it 1-2 hours before a meal.

Each aspirin dosage form has a certain time to take

Some notes when using aspirin

Besides knowing when to take Aspirin, when using Aspirin, you need to know a few notes:

• Take the medicine with a full glass of water and do not lie down for at least 10 minutes after taking it. In case you feel stomach upset while taking Aspirin, you can take it with juice, milk or food.
• When taking, you should swallow the capsule whole instead of crushing or chewing it as this can make your stomach feel more upset.
• Never crush or chew extended-release tablets or capsules as this will cause the medicine to work immediately, increasing the risk of side effects.
• If you are taking Aspirin pH8 to treat a headache, you develop slurred speech, weakness on one side of the body, or sudden vision changes, call 911 immediately. Before using this medicine you should consult your doctor or pharmacist if you have a headache due to some factors such as head injury, bending over, coughing or persistent headache accompanied by some symptoms such as vomiting. , stiff neck and fever.
• Aspirin is only effective when the first signs of a headache appear. Once your headache has lingered and got worse, taking the pill isn't effective at all because aspirin has a special coating or the drug is in the form of a slow-release tablet, so it lasts longer than usual. often.
• Never use aspirin for more than 10 days for self-treatment for persistent pain and for more than 3 days for fever. In this case, you should inform your doctor about your medical condition for timely treatment.
• You need to strictly follow your doctor's prescription. Do not stop taking your medicine without your doctor's consent. Absolutely do not arbitrarily increase or decrease the dose of the drug and do not arbitrarily use the drug for longer than the time prescribed by the doctor.

Take Aspirin with a full glass of water to reduce stomach upset

Above is all the information about Aspirin that SignsSymptomsList has compiled to share with readers. Hopefully with this information, readers can better understand aspirin and find the answer to the question when aspirin should be taken . I wish you good health reading. Don't forget to continue to follow SignsSymptomsList's website to update more useful articles!