What Can I Do?
If you or a loved one has been taking aspirin or if you suspect that the patient has accessed aspirin (such as in the case of a child who has had access to a medicine cabinet), seek immediate emergency medical treatment. If the person is not yet showing symptoms, you can call the American Association of Poison Control Centers at 800-222-1222 for information on the steps to take.
Call 911 if the person has become delirious or lost consciousness. Provide emergency personnel with as much information as you have, which may include the brand or brands of medication the person took and the dosage, how many pills are missing or believed to be missing from any containers, and any information about underlying medical conditions of which you’re aware.
Once at an emergency care center, a doctor can check for signs of aspirin poisoning and organ system damage and measure aspirin levels in the blood. Because an aspirin overdose can affect the ability to breathe, it’s important to be in a facility where breathing can be monitored, and oxygen can be administered. Further, because aspirin levels can continue to rise over time (especially when the overdose is the result of coated tablets), it’s important that a doctor be able to monitor those levels.
How Can I Avoid an Overdose?
In 2014, the FDA reversed its position on using daily aspirin as a primary prevention method in patients who have not had a heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular problems. Because new evidence suggests that the benefits for these patients, who have not been diagnosed with a condition and prescribed an aspirin regimen by their physicians, do not outweigh the risks, the FDA does not recommend this type of preventive therapy. Regular aspirin use can increase the risk of brain or stomach bleeding, as well as the risk of developing ulcers, certain gastrointestinal (GI) infections, diverticular disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), among others.
If you or a loved one has been prescribed a daily aspirin regimen, you should take a few steps to ensure that you don’t develop a chronic overdose: