Word: aspirins
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Americans alone ingest more than 50 million tablets of aspirin nature a day. In addition, aspirin, known chemically as acetylsalicylic acid, is the primary ingredient-and often the only active one-in nearly 50,000 over-the-counter (nonprescription) drugs now available in the U.S. Unlike many other drugs, aspirin is so mild that most people can take it for years in proper doses without suffering any serious problems or developing resistance to it. Even more remarkable, doctors seem to be finding promising new uses for the trusty old remedy-for example, as a possible preventive for heart attacks...
Still, while it remains the champion of analgesics, aspirin has lately become a subject of considerable controversy. Doctors and health officials are becoming increasingly worried that many people may be overdoing a good thing. Taken in excess, aspirin can cause ringing in the ears, dizziness, mental confusion, stomach bleeding and, as an anticoagulant, special problems for those with blood-clotting difficulties. Not the least of its hazards is its interaction with other drugs. As the Food and Drug Administration's Dr. William Gilbertson puts it: "Aspirin is safe, effective, but must be respected...
...medical profession's concern about the use of analgesics has been heightened by the aggressive introduction of aspirin substitutes such as Tylenol and Datril, which contain the drug acetaminophen. Though this drug has the advantage of not causing the stomach irritation associated with aspirin and though it can be taken by the few people sensitive to aspirin, it also has drawbacks: in large doses it can cause liver damage. In addition, since it is not an anti-inflammatory agent, it does not work against the swollen joints characteristic of arthritis...
...page study on analgesics just released by the FDA, a six-member advisory panel confirms that both aspirin and acetaminophen relieve minor aches and reduce fever, but it also issues a sharp warning against extravagant claims. "Adjective-itis," FDA Commissioner Donald Kennedy calls it, and urges new caveats to protect unwary consumers from potential dangers that could accompany overzealous use of analgesics. Among other things, the panel suggests...
...Including warnings against taking aspirin while under treatment for ulcers or other bleeding problems, during the last three months of pregnancy, or except under a doctor's guidance while taking prescription drugs for thinning of the blood or for diabetes, gout or arthritis...