Many sharp respiratory diseases proceed with an increase in body temperature to high numbers, thereby significantly worsening the patient's condition. In this case, the appointment of antipyretic drugs is very appropriate, despite the fact that the increased temperature promotes the activation of the body's defenses and is a positive factor in the fight against the pathogen.
Application for colds
When the temperature rises above 38 degrees, drugs with antipyretic properties are prescribed.
However, the use of aspirin for colds is limited. This is due to the fact that it has a wide range of side effects.
The side effects of aspirin that limit its use are:
- irritating effect on the gastric mucosa, leading to the development of stomach ulcers, intestines and bleeding;
- allergic reactions, up to the development of bronchospasm or "aspirin asthma";
- teratogenic effect, which is a contraindication for the use of the drug by pregnant women.
The use of aspirin for colds is currently limited. This is especially true for children under 12 years old, in whom taking the drug can cause the development of Reye's syndrome, a serious illness that occurs with the development of encephalopathy, liver and kidney damage. The course of the disease is often fatal in children.
In addition, a cold is most often manifested by the development of symptoms such as perspiration and sore throat, dry cough, and malaise. The increase in body temperature is insignificant and limited to subfebrile indicators. Often, cold symptoms develop against a background of normal temperature. In this case, there is no need to prescribe antipyretic drugs. This applies not only to aspirin, but also to safer drugs.
The use of aspirin for colds without fever is unreasonable.
As for the anti-inflammatory and analgesic action of this drug, the common cold is often accompanied by myalgia or joint pain. However, these symptoms are not very pronounced compared to the flu or other acute respiratory viral infections. They need correction in exceptional cases. In this case, drugs of choice are agents for external use, ointments and gels, or agents with less pronounced side effects. For example, ibuprofen is an active drug with sufficient anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
Indications
Aspirin for colds can be prescribed in the following cases:
- when the temperature rises above 38, 5 degrees in adults and 38 degrees in children;
- the child must be over 12 years old;
- in the absence of such concomitant pathologies as ulcerative lesions of the stomach and duodenum, hemorrhagic vasculitis, influenza and other conditions associated with bleeding;
- if the patient does not have bronchial asthma and other allergic conditions;
- in the absence of more safe means.
When using acetylsalicylic acid, as with any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, you should adhere to certain rules of admission. 
They consist in the fact that in order to reduce the ulcerogenic effect, the drug is not recommended to be consumed on an empty stomach. An aspirin tablet should be crushed thoroughly and washed down with plenty of liquid, preferably milk.
When these requirements are met, aspirin can be an important treatment for conditions with increased blood clots. Having lost its position as an antipyretic agent, in recent years, aspirin has become widespread, due to its unique effect on the coagulation properties of blood.
Aspirin is an old and well-known medicine that many people use for any ailment, be it a headache, sore throat, toothache or fever. Some people believe that the medicine can stop the development of colds and drink aspirin when the body is hypothermic for a preventive purpose. This statement is partly true, since scientists have identified the ability of aspirin to suppress the reproduction of the influenza virus in cells.
Aspirin is an anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic and antiaggregatory agent. The drug belongs to the group of non-steroidal drugs and still occupies a leading position among them. For more than a century, aspirin has been helping people get rid of the pain and fever that accompany colds. Acute inflammation suppressed after a couple of days of systematic administration of the drug.
How to use aspirin for colds?
The best results can be achieved when taking aspirin in combination with vitamin C. Ascorbic acid protects the capillary walls, is a powerful antioxidant, and increases the body's immune defenses. Their combined use can even stop the development of a viral disease. On sale you can find effervescent tablets Aspirin UPSA or Aspirin-S, which are dissolved in a glass of water and drunk with a fever and cold.
If the temperature does not drop for several days, you should stop self-medication and see a doctor.
Side effects
An effective drug, however, has a significant number of side effects. Aspirin irritates the inner lining of the stomach and intestines, and can cause dyspeptic disorders: heartburn, nausea, and abdominal pain.
The drug's ability to reduce blood clotting is useful in preventing thrombosis in heart attacks or strokes, but aspirin can result in stomach bleeding.
There are known cases of "aspirin asthma" in people who are hypersensitive to salicylates. There may be skin rashes and allergic rhinitis in the treatment with acetylsalicylic acid.
It is dangerous to use aspirin for colds in children under 12 years of age. This is fraught with the development of Reye's syndrome - dangerous complication, in which severe liver damage and encephalopathy (due to cerebral edema) develop. Symptoms do not appear immediately after treatment with aspirin, but after a while, when the child has already recovered from the flu or other viral infection... Although Reye's syndrome is very rare, it should not be forgotten.
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The first drugs for the treatment of fever were salicylates - initially of plant origin (willow bark, myrtle leaves). The appearance more than 100 years ago in the Bayer laboratory of the synthetic drug ASPIRIN ®, an effective antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug, has become one of the symbols and a significant achievement of the era of organic synthesis, which brought the world many new drugs that have saved millions of lives. This drug remains one of the most used analgesics and antipyretics today. In terms of the frequency of use, ASA drugs occupy a leading place both in Ukraine and throughout the world. No country has restrictions on medical use the drug ASPIRIN ® and other ASA-containing drugs both on the recommendations of doctors and as part of responsible self-medication. This is facilitated by more than a century of experience in the use of these drugs, the reliability and predictability of treatment results.
Every year millions of people around the world suffer from colds. This pathology is accompanied by unpleasant symptoms that lead to disability - headache and muscle pain, lacrimation and rhinorrhea, a feeling of general weakness. And one of the characteristic, unpleasant and threatening health, and sometimes human life, symptoms is fever. It is a well-known fact that it is undesirable to carry a cold on your feet, this can lead to serious consequences, it is better to spend several days with a decrease in activity. But it is important that for more than a century ASPIRIN ® has allowed people not to suffer from cold symptoms, to carry this disease with minimal deterioration in the quality of life.
Currently, the mechanisms of action of ASA on the main symptoms of colds, and primarily on high temperature (hyperthermia).
Fever (from Latin febris) is a nonspecific typical pathological process, one of the signs of which is a change in thermoregulation and an increase in body temperature. In evolution, fever arose as a protective and adaptive reaction of the body to infections, therefore, in addition to an increase in body temperature, other important processes characteristic of infectious pathology also occur:
- the processes of antibody formation are accelerated, immunity is stimulated, phagocytosis is activated;
- the enzymatic activity increases, the energy efficiency of various processes is ensured with minimal energy consumption;
- the detoxification function of the liver and other organs increases;
- the activity of pathogens is suppressed;
- the stress reaction is activated - the general adaptation syndrome develops.
The cause of the development of fever is two types of pyrogens (substances with a certain thermoregulatory activity). These are exogenous (of an infectious nature - bacterial shells, bacterial toxins, viruses and protozoa, and non-infectious - medicines, foreign proteins) and endogenous (produced in the cells of the body - neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages under the influence of exopyrogens). Exopyrogens do not cause fever, but only stimulate the production of endopyrogens. When in contact with the neurons of the thermoregulation center, it is the endopyrogens that move its set point of temperature perception to a higher level, and it remains there as long as the synthesis of leukocyte pyrogen continues in the body. After the excitation of the neurons of the center, the mediator link turns on, the production of prostaglandins E, serotonin begins. As a result of the action of pyrogens and mediators, the sensitivity of cold receptors increases and the sensitivity of heat receptors decreases. Due to this, normal temperature is perceived as insufficient, heat production in the body increases and heat transfer decreases.
Depending on the rise in temperature, fever is subdivided into subfebrile (up to 38 ° C), weak (up to 38.5 ° C), moderate (febrile, up to 39 ° C), high (pyretic, up to 41 ° C) and excessive (hyperpyretic, above 41 ° C). Hyperpyretic fever is life-threatening, especially in children and people with severe chronic diseases (cardiovascular, epilepsy, etc.).
During an increase in temperature, a violation of thermoregulation can occur - overheating, which has a central origin. If fever is a protective process, then overheating is damaging. The negative effect of high temperature is manifested by the following main effects:
— from the central nervous system: changes in the processes of excitation and inhibition are noted, a slow alpha rhythm appears on the electroencephalogram, which is characteristic of inhibition of the cerebral cortex. Insomnia, fatigue, headache, loss of consciousness, delirium, hallucinations may also occur;
— from the endocrine system: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system is activated, signs of stress appear, the release of thyroid hormones increases, which ensures an increase in basal metabolism;
— from the digestive system: the secretion of saliva (tongue is dry) decreases, the amount and acidity of gastric juice, appetite worsens;
- Basal metabolism changes: against the background of an increase in temperature, the oxidation of carbohydrates is accelerated, and then - of fats. With a number infectious diseases protein metabolism is disturbed, nitrogen balance becomes negative;
- characteristic changes in water-electrolyte metabolism occur: at the first stage, an increase in urine output is noted due to an increase in blood pressure and a rush of blood to the internal organs, at the second - as a result of increased production of aldosterone, urine output decreases, at the third - the excretion of chlorides from the body is accelerated, water leaves the tissues of the body , the amount of urine and sweat increases.
The oldest method of lowering temperatures is physical. It is carried out by increasing heat transfer from the body surface - using compresses, immersion in a cold bath. This method is effective, however, in fact, it is counter-pathogenetic, since the cause of fever is not a lack of heat transfer, but in the displacement of the setting mark of the center of thermoregulation. New opportunities for the treatment of fever arose with the advent of ASPIRIN ®, the first representative of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
All NSAIDs, including ASPIRIN ®, do not affect normal or increased body temperature due to overheating (heat stroke). The antipyretic effect in this case is associated with the inactivation of the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX), as a result of which the synthesis of prostaglandins, prostacyclins and thromboxane is disrupted. With a decrease in the production of prostaglandins, their pyrogenic effect on the center of thermoregulation decreases, in which the normal activity of neurons is restored. A decrease in body temperature occurs due to an increase in heat transfer as a result of vasodilation of the skin and sweating.
The drug ASPIRIN ® quickly and effectively reduces body temperature in case of fever. Several factors must be considered for its safe use. ASA is an effective antipyretic, but it should not be prescribed to children under the age of 12 without prior medical advice. This is associated with the risk of Reye's syndrome - a rare but dangerous and often life-threatening acute condition, which manifests itself as encephalopathy (due to cerebral edema) and hepatosis - arising in children against the background of treatment of viral fever (influenza, measles, chickenpox) with drugs containing ASK. This information is contained in the instructions for use of all drugs containing ASA, compliance with the recommendations given in them is the key to safe treatment.
In adults, a direct indication for the relief of fever is an increase in body temperature above 39 ° C, and in patients with severe concomitant pathology, above 38 ° C. A decrease in body temperature at such high rates can disrupt the development of the immune response to infection and should be treated with caution.
The study of the influence of the drug ASPIRIN ® on the course of colds has not yet been completed. In recent years, scientists have been paying close attention to the revealed ability of ASA to influence a specific protein - the transcription factor NF-kappaB, which is involved in the development of tumors, rheumatoid arthritis, and the introduction of HIV infection. Research is underway on the possibility of using the drug ASPIRIN ® in the treatment of tumors due to its effect on NF-kappaB. The same property prompted researchers to study the effect of ASA on the reproduction of the influenza virus. In the latest study published in summer 2007, it was shown that ASPIRIN ® actually suppresses the reproduction of the influenza virus as in vitroand in vivo due to the suppression of NF-kappaB (Mazur I. et al., 2007). This study is one of many, opening a new milestone in the study of the mechanisms of action of the drug at a deeper molecular level.
Besides elevated temperature, most colds are accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms - sore throat, nasal congestion, rhinorrhea and lacrimation, muscle pain. In this situation, by the way, the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of ASA will turn out to be. The effectiveness of the drug ASPIRIN ® for such symptoms has long been noted by patients and doctors in the process of using this drug for colds. However, data from a clinical study have recently been obtained indicating a positive effect of ASA. The Common Cold Center at the University of Cardiff (UK) conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled study involving 272 patients, in which it was shown that taking the drug ASPIRIN® eliminates sore throat caused by this pathology up to 6 hours. significantly reduces the severity of headache and muscle pain. At the same time, no serious adverse reactions were noted in patients.
For optimal control of cold symptoms, combined forms of drugs are used, where ASPIRIN ® is combined with other drugs in order to have a complex effect on the patient's body.
Thus, ASPIRIN ® C is a combined preparation of ASA and vitamin C (ascorbic acid). The drug is available in the form of effervescent tablets, which dissolve quickly in water at room temperature. This form of release was not developed by chance - it makes the drug convenient to use for patients with such a cold symptom as a sore throat, when an attempt to swallow a pill or drink a hot drink causes discomfort. Vitamin C begins to break down at temperatures above 60 ° C, so dissolving it in cooler water will ensure the preservation of its biological activity. The aqueous solution is quickly absorbed and allows a quick onset of the effect. Another important factor in the use of an effervescent tablet is that the ASA dissolved in water does not precipitate. This helps to prevent the sedimentation of undissolved ASA on the gastric mucosa and significantly reduces its direct damaging effect, which makes the application safer.
Ascorbic acid increases the nonspecific resistance of the body, exhibits an antioxidant effect, has a positive effect on the leukocyte immune response of the body, makes a significant contribution to the synthesis of intracellular substances (mucopolysaccharides), which simultaneously with collagen fibers ensure the integrity of the capillary walls and thus reduce the permeability of the vascular walls. ASA and vitamin C have a synergistic effect on colds - taking them together improves the immune response by increasing the survival of macrophages. This effect is associated with the recently discovered antioxidant property of ASA (Xianglin Shi et al., 1999), which protects macrophages that are sensitive to free oxygen radicals, thereby improving their functioning and prolonging life. The use of ASPIRIN ® S is especially effective at the first signs of a cold and may even stop their development.
The second combined drug is ASPIRIN ® COMPLEX, which contains, in addition to ASA, components that can have a positive effect on cold symptoms. Sympathomimetic phenylephrine bitartrate, when interacting with α-adrenergic receptors, causes narrowing of the arterioles of the nasal mucosa, helping to reduce the edema of the upper respiratory tract and paranasal sinuses, rhinorrhea, lacrimation, facilitates nasal breathing. Chlorphenamine maleate is an inhibitor of histamine H 1 receptors, has an anti-allergic effect, reduces the permeability of the vessels of the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract, eliminates itching in the eyes and nose, reduces sneezing and lacrimation.
The drug is available in the form of a powder, readily soluble in water at room temperature, which gives the above advantages when used.
Thus, the appointment of this drug allows you to quickly and highly effectively reduce the severity of the main symptoms of colds. ASPIRIN ® as an antipyretic agent can be considered as a classic example of unlimited possibilities of cognition, revealing new unique properties of this drug.
Concluding the series of articles on ASPIRIN ® and other ASA medicines, it should be noted that over its more than century history, this drug has shown itself in various fields of medicine. There is hardly any other drug in the world that has such a rich collection of information about the features of medical use as ASPIRIN ® and other ASA drugs. Therefore, when used rationally, they provide meaningful results, are effective and safe. In the first half of the twentieth century. ASPIRIN ® has established itself as a classic analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory agent. A new round of his pharmacotherapeutic career began with the use of the drug for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction, stroke and vascular thrombosis. At the turn of the millennium, ASPIRIN ®, which celebrated its 100th anniversary, again became an object close attention scientists all over the world as a potential agent for the prevention of cancer, preeclampsia, treatment of type II diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease, etc. ...
Another name for aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid... It is a common cold and pain reliever drug that is widely used all over the world. He is also popular in our country. Aspirin received such fame and demand due to its indisputable advantages: it is inexpensive, acts quite quickly, has valuable qualities, and brings significant relief from colds and other diseases.
In this article, we will consider the features of aspirin as a drug for combating colds.
Aspirin is a medicine that has made it into the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most sold pain medicine.
You can buy aspirin without questions or problems at any pharmacy, it will cost a mere penny. Aspirin is interesting in that its original counterparts were made from tree bark. Through chemical manipulations, a substance, salicin, was released from the willow bark, which later became the main component of modern aspirin.
In the photo, aspirin for colds
Aspirin is a non-steroidal drug with a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect.
Its main impact:
- Reduces or removes altogether pain... Including headache with a cold.
- Stops inflammatory processes.
- Lowers the temperature. This ability of the drug is more pronounced than the previous two.
These are the main useful functions that aspirin is capable of performing when a cold begins. As you can see, despite its low cost, the drug is quite capable of significantly alleviating the course of the disease.
In addition to the listed types of therapeutic effects, aspirin is also known for its ability to thin the blood. Thanks to this, it is useful for varicose veins and thrombophlebitis. But also in connection with this feature, it cannot be taken by those people who have impaired blood clotting.
On the video, is it worth using aspirin for colds:
Benefit
In what cases, besides a cold, the use of aspirin is still justified.
Toothache can be relieved with half an aspirin tablet. In this case, the tablet must be placed directly on the aching tooth.
Varicose veins and thrombophlebitis... The course of these diseases is facilitated due to the fact that the drug is able to thin the blood. In addition to the listed diseases of the venous system, blood thinning with aspirin will help to avoid myocardial infarction or stroke.
Due to the fact that the agent helps to increase the patency of blood vessels, the risk of oncology decreases.
Relieves migraine attacks well. In this case, it must be taken once. For a sore throat, the drug will help reduce discomfort.
Joint and muscle pains, including those that appear as a result of a cold, as well as excessive zeal in the gym.
Aspirin can also be helpful for recurrent menstrual pain.
In addition to medical indications, the drug is also used for cosmetic purposes. With it, you can cleanse the surface of the face from acne, remove impurities from the pores, and even out the skin tone.
With the flu
With this severe viral disease, aspirin can be quite effective treatment... Along with a decrease in temperature, the drug can reduce intracranial pressure, which often causes severe headache. Aspirin has this effect due to its vasodilating properties.
On the video, which is better for colds, aspirin or paracetamol:
Symptoms of "colds" infections
Colds and flu are similar in symptoms. The most characteristic signs of the disease include:
Keep in mind that if there is no fever, but all or a few other signs are present, taking aspirin is not justified. Doctors strongly advise using this medicine only if there is a fever. Moreover, the use of the drug is justified if the temperature is increased to 38.5 degrees. This is for adults. If we are talking about a child over 12 years old, then he can be given aspirin at a temperature of 38 degrees.
With a cold
Since all colds often entail high fever, headache, and sometimes inflammation, taking aspirin in this case is quite justified. 
As a rule, drugs that relieve fever, including aspirin, are prescribed if the temperature has already exceeded 38 degrees. But you should be careful when taking this drug, it has a number of serious contraindications. Most often, although the antipyretic property is less pronounced, the patient is prescribed paracetamol.
Taking aspirin
It is advisable to grind the tablet before use, so its effect on the delicate mucous membrane of the stomach will be more gentle.
It should be noted that modern pharmacology makes it possible to choose from much more gentle and safe means of treating colds. Therefore, taking aspirin for a cold is now justified only if there is no more modern mild drug in the house.
What to do, when, and what drugs will help with this problem, this article will help you understand.
How to use ginger for colds and coughs, and how effective this remedy is, is indicated here
But which ones should be used in the first place, and how to do it correctly, is described in great detail in this article.
Overdose
The unpleasant and dangerous side effects of aspirin and its overdose include:
- Nausea and vomiting. Sometimes up to several times per hour.
- Mucous membranes bleed.
- Tinnitus, dizzy. Sometimes a person cannot even stand.
- Kidney pain, urination is also painful.
- In severe cases, Quincke's edema develops, sometimes anaphylactic shock.
Any of these symptoms requires an immediate ambulance call. 
Aspirin, analgin, or paracetamol
Which of the three drugs to choose when treating colds.
Paracetamol - effective antipyretic. It can also be given to children, in contrast to aspirin, since paracetamol has a much softer and more gentle effect. In addition, now you can buy various children's analogs of it in the form of sweet syrups, which will safely and effectively relieve the baby of the temperature.
Paracetamol has fewer contraindications than aspirin. However, in the case of chronic pathologies of the liver or kidneys, it is highly undesirable to take paracetamol with alcoholism.
As for analgin, this drug has a pronounced antipyretic and analgesic effect. In addition, analgin is also able to have a weak anti-inflammatory effect. Can be used to relieve fever from colds and to relieve pain.
This drug has even more serious contraindications than aspirin, so it should be used only in the most extreme cases. Among other contraindications, analgin cannot be taken with pathologies of the liver, kidneys, and some blood diseases.
Analgin can cause serious damage to the circulatory system, sometimes leading to death. 
I would like to note that the whole world has almost completely abandoned the use of analgin, replacing it with more modern and safe drugs. And all the production of this drug has a single sales market - Russia. The drug is produced, by the way, mainly in India. In some countries, analgin is included in the list of prohibited drugs - in the USA, Japan, Australia.
If talking about all these three popular and inexpensive drugs, then the safest way to treat colds with paracetamol. Then, on the mildness of the impact, comes aspirin. And in last place is the dangerous analgin.
In conclusion, it should be noted that, as we have seen, despite its inexpensive cost, availability and mass production, aspirin is quite capable of helping with colds. The main thing is not to overdose, and not to use the drug if there are contraindications.
Although many people prefer aspirin for colds and flu, you need to remember about its disadvantages. Aspirin irritates the gastric mucosa and peptic ulcer is contraindicated, it can also disturb the water-salt balance, retain salts and water in the body, and the ability of aspirin to reduce blood clotting should be remembered for those who go to even the smallest operation. Aspirin should not be taken a week before.
Aspirin has antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. However, despite the much needed properties for colds and flu, the drug cannot be taken uncontrollably and especially thoughtlessly: With prolonged use (more than 3-4 days), aspirin can give unwanted side effects, including those with serious consequences.
Children and adolescents are at risk... The development of Reye's syndrome is associated with taking aspirin, in which unexplained rises in temperature and neuropsychiatric disorders appear. Intracranial pressure increases, breathing and consciousness, liver and kidney function are impaired. And all this comes from the usual doses of aspirin taken with viral diseases.
In accordance with the adopted restrictive measures, aspirin and preparations containing it are not prescribed for children and adolescents, sick or recovering from chickenpox, herpes and flu. If you notice nausea, vomiting, or a sudden rise in temperature after taking aspirin, stop taking the medicine immediately and see your doctor.
Aspirin is also contraindicated for stomach ulcer.
Another effective antipyretic for colds and flu is paracetamol
Paracetamol
Paracetamol, like aspirin
It is also sold over the counter and is popular with people as a good antipyretic and pain reliever for colds and flu. Allergic reactions to the drug are extremely rare, but paracetamol is contraindicated in patients who have had hepatitis, suffering from cirrhosis of the liver. In large doses, it can damage a healthy liver.
The maximum daily dose of paracetamol for adults, in tablets - 4 g and in candles - 6 g. Children take the drug according to their age, the dose is determined by the pediatrician. Babies under 3 months old should not be given paracetamol at all!