Aspirin From When it Was First Discovered

¶ … Aspirin from when it was first discovered to its relevant use today, and include when Aspirin was first discovered and its initial therapeutic use. It will also discuss today's therapeutic use to its initial market use. When Aspirin was first discovered, people considered it a wonder drug, and today, it is still one of the most commonly recognized and used drugs in the world.

Aspirin has been replaced in many therapies by synthetic derivatives, but Aspirin is still a vital drug for treating a variety of aches, pains, fever, and even reduce the threat of heart attacks. Technically, aspirin is an acetyl derivative of salicylic acid (ASA), used to "lower fever, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and thin the blood" ("Aspirin"). A chemist at the Bayer Company in Germany first created Aspirin in 1897. Dr. Felix Hoffmann, the discoverer, was looking for something to help ease his father's rheumatism when he isolated the drug.

However, Egyptians and Greeks recognized the healing properties of salicylic acid in willow bark thousands of years before Hoffmann created the modern version we know as Aspirin today (Editors). The original patent on the drug was issued in Berlin in 1899, and initially, it was sent to pharmacies in powder form, and then dispensed to patients in small paper bags, weighing 1 gram each. Bayer patented the drug in the United States in 1900.

In addition, in 1900 it was introduced in 500 mg tablets, and so it became one of the first medicines to be distributed in "standardized dosage form" (Editors). Aspirin grew in popularity every year, and by 1909, it accounted for almost one-third of Bayer's sales in the U.S. (Editors). Initially, people used Aspirin for a variety of uses, including helping the aches and pains of rheumatism and arthritis, reducing fevers, and even in preventing dangerous and deadly diseases such as the flu epidemic that swept Europe and America in the 1920s.

One European newspaper advised, "As soon as you feel ill, take to your bed with a hot water bottle at your feet, drink hot chamomile tea, take three Aspirin tablets a day. If you follow these rules, you'll be fit and well again in no more than a few days" (Editors). However, there are some dangers that come with taking large doses of Aspirin.

Most people know that taken over long periods, Aspirin can cause gastrointestinal bleeding, and some people cannot take the drug because it upsets their stomachs, which is one reason buffered Aspirin was developed. Regular dosages can also cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and large doses can be fatal, especially in children ("Aspirin"). Scientists have developed some alternatives to Aspirin like Acetaminophen (Tylenol), which often does not irritate the gastric system but can help relieve pain and lower fevers.

In addition, a new "poly-Aspirin" has been developed that helps those who are allergic to the drug tolerate dosages (Gribbin 28). Unlike many other early drugs that have been replaced by newer and better drugs, today Aspirin is still used extensively for a variety of ailments. Scientists believe Aspirin works by "interfering with the synthesis of specific prostaglandins in the body" ("Aspirin"). However, many more uses have surfaced for Aspirin in modern times, including the treatment and prevention of some types of heart disease and strokes.

"Because of its ability to inhibit the formation of blood clots, aspirin is also used in low doses to prevent heart attack and stroke and to control unstable.