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New insights into why aspirin works so well

eurekalert.org

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Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#141

Post by jeffparsons »

onethought wrote: post #40
jeffparsons wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's shocking to me how we still refer to paracetamol and ibuprofen in the same breath when their relative risks are so different.

What risks are you referring to? I think the fact that for most people there is almost no risk is why they are mentioned in the same Breathe

For most people oxycodone presents very little risk, and it is an extremely effective painkiller. But for some people it will ruin their lives, so (at least in Australia) it is tightly regulated.

It's the risk of seriously damaging a small subset of people even if they stick strictly to the recommended dosage that I find strange. Maybe that's the case for a lot of medicines and I'm just less aware of those. But I see people popping ibuprofen like candy and I don't think many of them have even considered whether they might be in that small group of people that definitely shouldn't touch it.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#142

Post by herbst »

9dev wrote: post #60
11235813213455 wrote: post #47

I use nothing for reducing inflammation, nor any drugs since decades, when I'm ill from time to time (once or twice a year), I let the fever go, the body is just working actively, it's not especially uncomfortable

The body handles inflammations just fine, but you can actively help it to get it done more quickly. Doesn't have to be Aspirin though, chamomile tea and lots of other things work wonders, too.

Tumeric. People who say that doesn't actively work against inflammation simply haven't tried it enough.

I don't know if there is a upper limit but 5-10g in Form of moon milk or tea definitely go down just fine.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#143

Post by froggit »

photochemsyn wrote: post #19

I imagine different people tolerate different anti-inflammatory over-the-counter drugs differently. Side effects of overuse are significant however and include liver, kidney, and gastrointestinal damage (acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin respectively I think with some crossover effects). Use judiciously, and only take regularly under a doctor's supervision as side effects can be minimized with additional drugs whi…

Ibuprofen and aspirin can both reliably produce internal gastrointestinal bleeds after a single dose in people with underlying digestive diseases. Over enough time with constant usage, they'll cause that in anybody.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#144

Post by naijaboiler »

INTPenis wrote: post #124

When you say in 2023 that they have "new insights" as to why a common over the counter drug works it really doesn't instill great confidence in pharma. Seems like we're still grinding up rhino horns and tiger penis and hoping for the best outcome, just that we do it with extensive testing now so we get a statistically acceptable outcome viable for marketing.

As a doctor, i can confidently tell you as much as we know, we know so damn little. I get headaches everytime a patent asks me to explain why. The truth is for most diseases at best we have some plausible mechanism that's sorta supported up with some biology, and some treatment that works and we think we have some idea why. The real answer is we don't know, we have some reasonable theories that may or may not be true

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#145

Post by Arn_Thor »

coldtea wrote: post #5
lispisok wrote: post #2

I've always though Aspirin was a deprecated drug but lately I've heard reports from people who claim it's the only thing that helps their arthritis or other issues. Maybe there is something behind it.

Aspirin deprecated? It's one of the most useful and most widespread in use drug on the planet - for far more than "arthritis". It's the WD-40 of drugs. Ah, it's even in TFA: "Aspirin, which is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is one of the most widely used medications in the world. It is used to treat pain, fever and inflammation, and an estimated 29 million people in the U.S. take it daily to reduce the risk o…

I think it's a lot more common in the US than elsewhere. Certainly in Europe and Asia paracetamol (acetominaphen) looks to be more common.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#146

Post by oldgradstudent »

INTPenis wrote: post #124

When you say in 2023 that they have "new insights" as to why a common over the counter drug works it really doesn't instill great confidence in pharma. Seems like we're still grinding up rhino horns and tiger penis and hoping for the best outcome, just that we do it with extensive testing now so we get a statistically acceptable outcome viable for marketing.

If we could reliably show that ground rhino horns and tiger penises work, we'd be using them, or finding an easily mass produced derivatives.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#147

Post by paulpauper »

Thousands of people are hospitalized yearly due to bleeds from 'allegedly' safe drug. The overdose occurs due to double-dosing or people taking too much owing to the drugs not working. Same for drugs containing acetaminophen. Overall, overpriced , infective drugs that cause more harm than good except for the most minor of pain. The notion that these drugs are supposed to be safer seems clearly false.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#148

Post by paulpauper »

ShadowBanThis01 wrote: post #49

"it can cause detrimental side effects such as internal bleeding and organ damage" NSAIDs are also ototoxic, meaning that they cause hearing damage.

Yeah, for all the hype about opioids being bad, these 'safe' drugs are way more dangerous than commonly purported. Acetaminophen is especially bad because the toxicity threshold is only slightly above the therapeutic dose. That is why they have to put so many warnings on this 'safe' drug. Yet let's blame opioids. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapeutic_index

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#149

Post by Helmut10001 »

paulpauper wrote: post #147

Thousands of people are hospitalized yearly due to bleeds from 'allegedly' safe drug. The overdose occurs due to double-dosing or people taking too much owing to the drugs not working. Same for drugs containing acetaminophen. Overall, overpriced , infective drugs that cause more harm than good except for the most minor of pain. The notion that these drugs are supposed to be safer seems clearly false.

You can overdose with everything. I use half an aspirin once in every 12 months. This is the only drug I ever use 'regularly' and I feel an immense impact: I sleep 12 hours from this half-portion because I my body is not used to any drugs.

Re: New insights into why aspirin works so well

#150

Post by paulpauper »

jeffparsons wrote: post #38
drKarl wrote: post #35

When I was a kid aspirin was used for everything, from a headache to fever, etc, now no one uses it anymore, and everyone uses paracetamol and ibuprofen instead...

It's shocking to me how we still refer to paracetamol and ibuprofen in the same breath when their relative risks are so different.

Yeah, take too much paracetamol and you die, literally, of liver failure, which is not that hard to do. Take too much ibuprofen is survivable. Taking 20+ ibuprofen at once will give you nasty stomach ache but you will probably not die. The fact people do not know this difference is why overdosing is such a big problem with paracetamol-based pills. They look identical yet one is pretty much a toxin...it very easy to confuse them.
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