ask the pharmacist
Richard Wenzel, Pharm. D. Diamond Inpatient Headache Unit, Presence-Saint Joseph Hospital Chicago, IL
“ Aspirin” has been marketed as a commercial product for more than a century. In actuality, acetylsalicylic acid is the active ingredient in aspirin and was discovered in the bark of a willow tree over 200 years ago. Today, aspirin remains a commonly utilized drug which is available without a prescription in most countries around the world, including the United States. This medication is inexpensive and, when taken at recommended doses, can be safely used by most individuals. As a result of these features, approximately 16,000 tons of aspirin( or roughly 80 million pills) are sold annually in this country.
Aspirin’ s uses include numerous non-pain conditions such as heart disease, fever, and blood clots occurring throughout the body. Still, pain typically ranks as the leading reason people use aspirin and, unsurprisingly, pain induced by a headache is often at the top of this list; virtually every person on the planet will experience a headache sometime during their life. Indeed,“ take an aspirin” is undoubtedly the most common response to anyone saying“ I have a headache”. The World Health Organization lists aspirin as an essential medication for the treatment of migraine in adults, further promoting the global consumption of this medication.
Although aspirin is available in various dosage forms including tablets, capsules, suppositories, liquids, and injections, in the United States, products taken by mouth are clearly the most common manner in which this drug is utilized. The Food and Drug Administration( FDA) has approved aspirin for multiple medical purposes, including:
1) the treatment of adults with headache
2) the treatment of adults with migraine. The FDA-approved doses for headache are 500 milligrams( mg.) to 1000 mg. every 4 to 6 hours as needed, with a maximum dose of 4000mg. per 24 hours. The FDA-approved doses for migraine are 1000mg for one-time administration every 24 hours as needed.
Migraine affects about 30 million individuals in this country, only half of whom have been diagnosed by a physician. Furthermore, physicians misdiagnose approximately onefourth of patients with migraine. Thus a large number of migraine sufferers are unaware of the true nature of their condition and they may simply call their illness a“ headache.” Differentiating between a headache and a migraine can be a difficult, but a necessary task to perform in the real world. Yet, a 3000mg daily dosing difference
28 HEAD WISE | Volume 3, Issue 1 • 2013