Aspirin: Your New Best Friend

Among the many medications in your drug cabinet, there is a high chance that aspirin may be one of them. And why wouldn't it be? Aspirin is good for treating fever, pain, inflammation, arthritis, muscle pain, cold, and a whole plethora of other ailments, including heart problems and acne (3).

(8) Aspirin pill.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, every 7 minutes, someone in Canada dies from heart disease or stroke (4). That is a lot of people dying from heart problems! Aspirin helps fight against heart disease because it works as an anticoagulant in the blood (5). When blood coagulates, this means that the blood is forming clots to stop flowing (this is useful when your body is trying to stop bleeding, for example). So an anticoagulant is something that will stop your blood from forming clots of becoming too thick. Less clots means that there is less chance of having a heart attack or stroke!

In fact, Aspirin is so effective at reducing the risk of heart attack or stroke that many doctors will prescribe “an-aspirin-a-day” to patients with heart disease.

Like all medicine, however, Aspirin also has some side effects. Long-term use of Aspirin can result in stomach ulcers (2). This is because another effect of Aspirin is to reduce the stomach’s protection against the stomach acid (5). Aspirin reduces secretion of protective mucous and bicarbonate (acid neutralizer).

Aspirin has also been used to make facemasks that help treat acne (6). According to commentators on Acne.org, the Aspirin facemasks have mostly been successful in reducing the blemish size and reducing the redness of the blemish (1). However, the science behind Aspirin’s ability to treat acne is unclear.

 (7) Before and after the use of aspirin facemask.

As a medicine, Aspirin is relatively safe for most people and will probably be used for many years yet.

References

1. Acne.org, 2014. Aspirin Mask Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.acne.org/aspirin-mask-reviews-75/
2. Drugs.com, 2014. Aspirin. Retrieved from http://www.drugs.com/aspirin.html
3. C-Health, 2014. Drug Factsheets: Aspirin. Retrieved from http://chealth.canoe.ca/drug_info_details.asp?brand_name_id=1325
4. Heart & Stroke Foundation, 2014. Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/c.ikIQLcMWJtE/b.3483991/k.34A8/Statistics.htm
5. Plane, Frances, November 26, 2011. Classic Examples of Drug Discovery II. Pharmacology 201. Lecture conducted from University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
6. Whitelocks, Sadie, October 7, 2013. Aspirin as a face mask? How budget painkillers can be used as a DIY cure for blemishes and scaly skin. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2448598/Aspirin-face-mask-How-pain-killers-used-DIY-cure-blemishes.html
7. http://www.iapetus.eu/images/acne-oily-face-10528.jpg
8. http://cdn.zmescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/aspirin_preeclampsia.jpg