Aspirin: Medicine from pain to heart attack prevention

 Aspirin: Medicine from pain to heart attack prevention

Aspirin is such a drug, which helps to reduce not just one but many health problems. It is used to reduce general body aches, headaches, swelling due to injuries and high temperature (fever).

Not only that, this medicine has blood thinning properties. Due to this, even heart attacks and paralysis that are about to clot can be saved by giving this medicine as soon as possible. It belongs to the group of anti-inflammatory drugs.

History of medicine

Thousands of years ago, the citizens of Greece and Egypt used the bark of the yellow plant to treat pain and fever in any part of the body. It would also heal.

Little by little, experts searched for the properties of the bark of that plant. It was discovered that salicin was present. In the 19th century, chemists were able to isolate salicylic acid and turn it into a medicine. However, salicylic acid showed more heartburn and other side-effects in patients.

In 1897, Felix Hoffmann, a German chemist from the pharmaceutical company Bayer, discovered a way to chemically modify salicylic acid to make it more effective with less side-effects.

For that, add acetyl acid to salicylic. The modified drug was given the name 'Aspirin' in 1899.

In what situations is it used?

Pain: Aspirin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. One of its main functions is to reduce pain and swelling. It is often used to relieve headache, toothache, muscle pain, rheumatic joint pain and menstrual pain.

To reduce fever: Viral fever, post-vaccine fever and bacterial fever, all types of fever can be cured by using this medicine.

Heart: Low-dose aspirin is often prescribed to people with heart attacks and those at risk for heart attacks.

To prevent blood clots: Aspirin is sometimes used to prevent blood clots in people who have had a heart attack, stroke, or certain heart conditions.

Anti-inflammatory effect: Aspirin helps reduce swelling in conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Effective in some types of cancer: Some studies have shown that long-term use of aspirin may help reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, such as colon cancer.

How does medicine work in the body?

Aspirin helps inhibit the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX), which promotes the production of prostaglandin hormones. Due to this hormone, any part of the body becomes swollen, painful and fever occurs. Aspirin reduces the production of prostaglandins by blocking the activity of the enzyme cyclooxygenase.

Aspirin can also prevent blood clotting by reducing the production of thromboxane.

Prevention of heart attack and stroke

People with diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol are at risk of heart attack and stroke at any time. The possibility of this is high in people over 50 years of age who are uncontrolled.

In such a case, if this medicine is given as soon as the symptoms of a heart attack appear, it reduces the obstruction caused by blood clots in the blood circulation arteries during a heart attack and prevents paralysis due to blood clots. Because it has the ability to thin the blood.

Therefore, if you have diabetes and blood pressure, you must keep this medicine at home and with you. Taking medicine as soon as symptoms appear can reduce the risk to some extent.

However, in other cases aspirin is not recommended for everyone. It should be taken only under the guidance of a health care provider, as it has many side-effects.

Who should not take what?

- In case of ulcer

– History of gastrointestinal bleeding

- Liver problems

- Pregnancy in the third trimester

- Asthma

Can this medicine be taken at will?

This does not mean that the doctor's advice cannot be taken. But it is better not to take it daily (for pain and fever). Because there are other safer medicines than this. If you must eat, it is advisable to consult a doctor.

Side-effects of aspirin

- Stomach and chest burning

- Vomiting and headache

- Bleeding

- Itching and redness of the skin after eating

- Ringing in the ears

How safe is it for children?

It is better not to use it on children below 18 years. Aspirin can cause 'Ray syndrome' in children. Ray syndrome is a rare but serious condition in which the liver and brain are affected.

Therefore, paracetamol and ibuprofen are recommended for children to reduce pain and fever.

How does medicine work in the body?

We take medicine when we have a headache, stomach ache or to treat an infection, but have you ever thought - how does the body know that this problem needs to be treated? Leaving all the parts of the body, the medicine works only where it is needed, how is that possible? Many people hardly know how such drugs work in their body.

Our body's system finds out what the body needs by itself. Also, it is used in the required place.

How does it work in the body?

When medicine is taken, it first reaches the stomach and is broken down into small pieces. Then it reaches the liver. It sends the substance needed by the medicine body into our blood. Necessary elements reach all organs and muscles of the body through the blood. Family Health and Emergency Physician Dr. Medicine also reaches our body through blood. Ramesh Pant says.

Any medicine spreads throughout our body through the blood. But each drug is made for a specific protein molecule, that is, a receptor,' he says.

Medicine is like a key, it spreads throughout the body and stays where it can fit. With this, for whatever purpose the medicine is taken, the work will be completed. Pant says.

After the drug reaches the target, it develops as a cell. So it starts working well," he said.

emissions

Excretion is the final step in which drugs work after metabolism. The inactive drug leaves the body. Excretion of inactive drugs through urine or faeces. Pant says.

Clinical pharmacologists measure the amount of drugs in urine and blood. From which one can calculate how the person is processing the medicine. For example, if the drug is excreted relatively quickly, a higher dose may be necessary. This is how medicine works," he says.

Medicines also contain some other ingredients

Dr. According to Pant, the medicine contains many ingredients other than the active medicine for the affected area. Medicines also contain other ingredients, which increase the stability, absorption, color, taste and other properties of the medicine. So that the medicine can work effectively.

For example, aspirin, a medicine taken for headache, also contains such elements. Due to this, the medicine is not damaged during transportation, but such medicines start to melt as soon as they are taken in the mouth.

Some medicines are given directly to the affected area

Some medicines do not dissolve in the stomach, while some medicines dissolve slowly. Some are less soluble, so they need to be taken more often. Therefore, to avoid the digestive process of the stomach, some drugs are given directly into the blood by injection. Pant says. For example, 'monoclonal antibodies' contain specific proteins that kill cancer tumor cells. "If this drug enters the body through the stomach, the stomach cannot separate it from other proteins," he says.

Medicines such as creams for the skin, eye drops for the eyes or inhalers for the lungs are delivered directly to the affected area. Dr. Pant says, 'It is very important to take oral medicine at the right time and in the right amount. In such a case, only the doctor can determine the correct dosage according to the patient's condition. Some medicines should be taken only after the patient feels the need.

Side-effects of medicine?

Medicines are designed to specifically affect the affected area. But it may not be possible to prevent it from reaching other parts of the body through the blood. Because of this, when going to unnecessary places, the side-effects of the medicine will be seen. Pant says.

"With time, the effect of the medicine weakens and it also comes out through the urine, so when you take some medicine, your urine smells bad, and when you take some medicine, the color of your urine is yellow," he says.

What medicine is more effective when to eat?

Dr. Ramesh Pant, Family Health and Emergency Physician

The timing of taking medicine to cure any disease also plays a role. Because our body parts are active at different times. It is more effective to take medicine keeping that in mind.

High blood pressure medication

When we sleep, our blood pressure drops by 10 to 20 percent. But normal high blood pressure does not decrease in people over 55 years of age. That is why the risk of stroke or heart attack increases while sleeping. Therefore, it is more effective to take high blood pressure medicine at night before going to bed.

Thyroid medication

Thyroid medicine should be taken in the morning on an empty stomach. Because certain foods and drinks can change the way drugs work in the body.

High cholesterol medication

Cholesterol production in the liver is higher at night than during the day. Therefore, it is more effective to take cholesterol medicine before going to bed at night.

Gastric medicine

It is effective to take gastric medicine half an hour before eating. Because before half an hour the gastric medicine enters the body and controls the secretion of gas. By eating that food, it is easily digested and gas related problems are reduced.

Osteoarthritis medication

This kind of patient has problems like pain, swelling etc. at different times. According to a study conducted by French researchers, the medicine taken in osteoarthritis should be taken 6 hours before the pain. So if it hurts a lot in the middle of the day, you should take medicine in the morning. If the pain is worse at night, the medicine should be taken in the middle of the day.

Allergy medicine

Antihistamine tablets taken for allergies cause sleepiness. In this case, taking medicine in the afternoon may make it difficult to work. Therefore, allergy medicine should be taken at night.

Depression medication

After taking anti-depressants, which relieve depression and anxiety, you feel sleepy. Therefore, it is better to take this medicine at night before going to bed.

What happens if you eat expired medicine?

Dr. Chiring Wangdi Sherpa, Gastroenterologist

Most medicines contain some kind of chemicals. A characteristic of all chemicals is that their effects change over time. The same is true in medicine. Many times due to wind, humidity, heat, the effectiveness of medicine gradually decreases with time. Therefore, it can have side-effects.

Therefore, expired medicines should not be consumed. Taking expired medicines can also be dangerous. But the expiry date does not mean that the medicine becomes poison after that date. If the use-by date of the medicine is over today, using it the next day will not have negative effects. After the expiration date, the effectiveness of the medicine will be reduced. The ability of the medicine to work will be reduced.

For example, we take antibiotics to kill bad bacteria. But if we take antibiotic medicine that has expired, the bacteria will not die because the effectiveness of that medicine is reduced.

When the bacteria do not die, one does not get better during the illness and the other 'antibiotic resistance' develops the ability of the infectious bacteria to resist the drug. Therefore, it is better not to consume medicines that have expired.

How to recognize antibiotic medicine, why should not be eaten randomly?

It is suspected that 'antibiotics' may be not only a boon but also a curse for medical science. Because its use is becoming so widespread that people are starting to worry that antibiotics will stop working in the human body the next day.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning - 'Taking antibiotics on the advice of others or on your own can be fatal.'

Doctors say that the use of antibiotics is random in our country. They say that it can seriously affect the health of children. Also, common people are not even aware of the sensitivity of antibiotics. Antibiotics are considered as common medicine.

Let's understand in simple language, what is antibiotic?

Veer Hospital General Physician Dr. Lochan Karki says, 'Anti means killing or preventing growth and bio means bacteria. It is a medicine or pill that destroys bacteria.

To understand it in simple language, antibiotic is a drug that destroys bacteria or does not allow them to grow and develop.

If there is any kind of bacterial infection in the body, antibiotics are given. Whether there is bacteria or not is found out through medical examination. If there is an infection, the doctor recommends which and how much antibiotics to take.

"Antibiotics cannot be given without a health examination," said Dr. Karki says, 'Because infection can be due to various reasons, not the amount of bacteria. Antibiotics do not work on microorganisms such as fungi, protazoa etc. Antibiotics have no effect on these bacteria and cannot destroy them. Therefore, antibiotics are used only for bacterial infections.

Dr. Lochan Karki. file picture

He says that recently antibiotics are being used without consulting a doctor. Bacterial infection or not? It is customary to buy and eat from drug stores without checking anything. This may have a negative impact in the future.

Antibiotics are given based on the structure and function of the bacteria. For example, some antibiotics are allowed to destroy the bacteria completely, while others are used to stop their growth, or to destroy the protein or strength of the bacteria, he says. Therefore, antibiotics should not be used as a shot in the dark.

Antibiotics in use

Dr. Penicillin and Cephalosporin are the most popular antibiotics in the world. Karki says. It destroys the cell wall of bacteria. Similarly, azirthymicin antibiotic works by blocking the protein made by bacteria. Which is called protein synthesis in medical language.

Bacteria can cause both gram positive and gram negative infections. Therefore, antibiotics are given only after finding out what kind of bacterial infection has occurred. That is why it is said to use antibiotics only after examination and not to eat full of huchuwa. Because it is not known without checking outside.

In the case of foreign countries, antibiotics cannot be bought and given without a doctor's prescription. Abroad, you can only buy over the counter medicine such as cold, fever, headache, anti-allergy, which can be taken without consulting a doctor. But that is not the case in Nepal. You can buy as much chocolate as you can in Nepal. He says that no restrictions have been imposed.

Even more dangerous if you don't finish the dose

If you eat half of the dose without completing the dose, the bacteria will change its structure and the bacteria will become more active, he said, antibiotics that kill the same bacteria will also work. It is called antibiotic resistant.

What is antibiotic resistance?

Antibiotic resistance means that the bacteria that are there gradually change their structure due to the lack of proper use of antibiotics. That change increases the ability of bacteria to fight against antibiotics, so that the use of antibiotics that destroy the same bacteria has no effect.

Such a condition is called antibiotic resistance. When antibiotics are used indiscriminately, the ability of all antibiotics to fight against bacteria gradually decreases and treatment is not possible. There should be death certificate. Therefore, we have to protect the antibiotics that are available. Karki suggests. He says that we should stop abusing it. Therefore, antibiotics should not be bought or consumed without consulting a doctor.

In what condition to consume?

If any infection does not get better in two to four days, after checking with the doctor, antibiotics can be taken in case of bacterial infection.

Today, antibiotics are being used like a shot in the dark. After finding out the type of bacterial infection, eating it kills the bacteria and cures the disease. Later the same medicine also works. There is no risk of antibiotic resistance. For example, there is no need to fire a cannon to kill a bird, a slingshot works. Similarly, elephants do not need slingshots, they need cannons for that.

How do normal people take antibiotics?

Doctors, nurses, pharmacists who work in the medical field can easily know whether it is an antibiotic or not, but the general public just looks at the name and cover of the medicine to see if it is an antibiotic or not? know It cannot be found,'' he says. Another thing is that you can find out only by searching on Google.

Recently, the effect of antibiotics is slowly decreasing. That is, antibiotics no longer have the ability to fight against bacteria, which is also called drug resistant in the language of doctors. Since antibiotics have been used indiscriminately for years, the ability of antibiotics to work against bacteria is decreasing.

What happens when you take antibiotics randomly?

Antibiotics can be given according to the needs of children, but only after checking with the doctor. In the case of children, antibiotics should be avoided as much as possible and should be used only as a last resort. Therefore, antibiotics should not be given to children in case of any infection.

The survey should be done four to five days after infection. Because it helps to make antibodies of the child. By increasing the ability to fight disease, it destroys bacteria without antibiotics. Gradually, with age, immunity increases and there is no need to use antibiotics.

"But even in minor problems, if antibiotics are given to the child, the immunity will decrease and the antibody may not develop," said Dr. Karki says, "In the end, any antibiotic may not work." Because the bacteria inside the body have developed themselves accordingly.

Pediatrician Dr. Rambhakta Subedi can happen if the appropriate dosage is not used correctly. But there is no problem if it is used under the supervision of a doctor. It can be if you use it randomly. Because some need to be given ointment, some may not need tablets, injections or antibiotics at all," he says.

Dr. Ram Bhakta Subedi. file picture

He says that the amount of antibiotics varies according to the nature of the disease and the bacterial infection. Generally, you have to eat for 5, 7, 10, 12, 14 days and months. In case of tuberculosis, antibiotics should be taken for 6 months, 9 months and 12 months. Subedi says. Because if the antibiotic is used completely, all the bacteria will die, but if the antibiotic given for five days is taken only for two days, then all the bacteria will not die and the bacteria remaining in the body will present itself more strongly. Because of this, when the same bacterial infection occurs later, antibiotics will also work.

There is a popular saying - Every action has an opposite reaction. But those who do less evil and more good deeds are not counted as evil. Therefore, antibiotics also have some side-effects. Therefore, it is said that antibiotics should be taken only after a doctor's examination. Because if someone already has a problem with liver, kidney, lung, antibiotics are administered accordingly with less side-effects. If someone is allergic, antibiotics are given according to the nature of the allergy. If taken according to the doctor's advice, there will be no long-term negative effects.

At what age can antibiotics be given to children?

Antibiotics can be used from newborns to terminally ill patients. But according to him, antibiotic dosage should be given according to the need based on the disease and complications. The amount of antibiotics can be given based on age, weight and bacterial infection. Subedi says.

Antibiotics in meat and milk too?

Today antibiotics are used even in boiler chicken and milk. Eating such foods and taking antibiotics are the same. Subedi says. Eating such foods creates a memory of bacteria. After that, there is a possibility that antibiotics against the same bacteria will not have an effect," he says.

In 1941, for the first time in the world, antibiotics were used in the human body. At that time, the infection in the body was cured by antibiotics