Paracetamol or Aspirin: what to choose?

Today, preparations from groups of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used extremely often, mainly without appropriate indications from the attending physician. Especially often used are two drugs - Aspirin and Paracetamol, which many consider to be equivalent. However, this is not quite true. The difference between drugs is observed in everything - beginning with the chemical structure of substances, their mechanism of action, the speed of the onset of the effect, and ending with the nature and likelihood of the development of side effects. So what is better, Aspirin or Paracetamol? And is it possible to give an unambiguous answer to this question?

Pharmacological properties of

preparations Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, is a drug with a large number of pharmacological properties, application possibilities. Most often, due to its ability to influence the center of thermoregulation in the brain, Aspirin is used to lower temperature. However, against a background of viral infection and increased body temperature, Aspirin can give a serious side effect - Ray's syndrome.

In addition to affecting the center of thermoregulation, acetylsalicylic acid can affect the intensity of the inflammatory process, and reduce its manifestations. One of the additional ways to use aspirin, is its use as an antiaggregant, i.e. A substance that prevents the adhesion of platelets and the formation of thrombi.

Paracetamol is a typical representative of a group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The main pharmacological effect when used, is to reduce body temperature, due to the ability of the drug to influence the center of thermoregulation in the brain, to change its activity. Despite the general similarity in the action of drugs, Aspirin and Paracetamol differ from each other, which is reflected in the indications, contraindications in their use.

Find out what you can give a child from a headache and at a temperature instead of Aspirin.

All about the preparation Ibuprofen read here.

Indications and contraindications for prescription

Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, is most often used as an effective antipyretic agent in adults. Especially often, in combination with analgin. However, aspirin is actively used in cardiology, as an antiplatelet agent, which prevents the formation of blood clots in blood vessels and other anatomical formations. In this regard, Aspirin is indicated in patients with IHD, endocarditis, after vascular prosthetics and rheumatism. Paracetamol is one of the safest means for reducing the elevated body temperature, due to which, it is widely used in medicine.

Contraindications to the appointment of Aspirin and Paracetamol are almost identical. These drugs are not prescribed for patients with ulcerative lesions of the gastrointestinal tract, with bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, hypersensitivity to the components of the drug. It is especially important to say about the contraindication of Aspirin in childhood, in connection with the risk of development of Ray's syndrome, associated with the development of brain and liver damage.

Comparison of Aspirin and Paracetamol

As mentioned above, both Paracetamol and Aspirin show a strong hypothermic effect, i.e. Contribute to lowering the body temperature. However, when prescribing these medicines, it is worth remembering that their effects are not the same and drugs can cause various side effects. Therefore, before their appointment it is necessary to understand which symptoms the patient is worried about, whether there are any contraindications to the use of these drugs.

According to international documents on pharmacology, Paracetamol is considered one of the safest drugs for lowering body temperature. Therefore, in most countries of the world, Paracetamol is not subject to prescription leave, does not require consultation with the attending physician before the appointment.

What is the difference between Aspirin and Paracetamol? It is believed that Aspirin more quickly reduces body temperature as it rises, this decrease persists for a longer period of time. However, Aspirin has a pitfall. One of its mechanisms of action is associated with exposure to hepatocytes, i.e. Liver cells. Whether it is possible to replace Aspirin with ibuprofen read here.

Important! A number of viral infections, including respiratory infections, manifesting ARVI, also act on similar cells. As a result, liver cells experience increased stress, which can lead to damage and development of the so-called Ray's syndrome with liver and brain damage.

In this case, the lethality in this case reaches 90%.Paracetamol is safer, especially when used in childhood. Therefore, all children are recommended it, in particular, when the temperature rises against the background of a respiratory infection. If the bacterial nature of the disease( angina, pyelonephritis, etc.) is not in doubt, then it is preferable to choose Aspirin.

People, very often the question arises: can I drink Paracetamol with Aspirin? Such a combination of drugs does not make sense, since both drugs have a similar effect, do not enhance it with respect to each other. In this regard, the simultaneous use of Aspirin and Paracetamol, will only increase the risk of side effects.

Do you know that Aspirin is used to treat cerebral ischemia?

On the role of Aspirin in the prevention of ischemic disease, you can find out here.

All about ischemic disease of the brain you will find here: http: //golmozg.ru/zabolevanie/ ishemicheskaya-bolezn-golovnogo-mozga.html. Causes of the disease and treatment.

I would like to note that fever, especially in children, can be a signal about the development of a serious, dangerous disease, primarily of an infectious nature. Therefore, the best decision in this situation will be to go to a medical institution for medical advice. The doctor will professionally carry out diagnostic measures and on their basis will determine the treatment by choosing one or the other drug.