source

Used as analgesic (pain killer), antipyretic (relieve fever), anti inflammatory (decrease inflammation) and as prophylaxis against ischemic event like heart attack and ischemic stroke.

How it is possible for one simple medication to do all that, is it because it work at the right site in human body? in past people thought it’s a gift from God , lets track this drug from the beginning.

                                     source, ads for Aspirin focusing on its analgesic effect

There is hole book about 300 pages only about Aspirin story, the book name is Aspirin by Diarmuid Jeffreys, he described Aspirin as “the most remarkable drug the world has ever seen,”, “one of the most endurably successful commercial products of all time.” And “one of the astonishing inventions in history,”
Aspirin is listed as a medication for treatment and control symptom in hundreds of disease and syndromes.

                                                       source

You might think that Aspirin came out from lab by genius chemist
Actually people used it from natural resource for thousand years

400BC Greek great doctor Hippocrates give women willow leaf tea to relieve the labor (childbirth) pain. he also advice his patients to eat the leaves of Willow tree for fever and pain , the active component extracted from Willow tree in Italy and named Salicin but it have very bad irritating test.

Medicine made from Willow tree and other plants contain Salicin can be track to ancient Egypt and ancient Sumer also.

             Willow tree 

Like most discovery it started with smart scientist with good motivation.

In 80s Germany a chemists, Felix Hoffmann while he is working in fabric dye business he was experimenting in waste product of dye component to find a pain reliever for his father who have rheumatoid arthritis, Hoffmann succeeded in finding a stable powder of salicylic acid, this component become the core stricter for acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin)

                                                          

                                                                             source

Aspirin. The title was named “a” from acetyl, and “spir” from the spirea plant, meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria, also known as Spiraea ulmaria), the source of salicin.

How it works (mechanism of action)

To understand how Aspirin work imagine that you are in room right now and your door is open, there three people enter your room, one make you feel pain other make you febrile, the last just make your blood clotting, you figure that it is better to close that door so no one can enter that is how Aspirin work.
I am not good in given example but i hope you grasp the idea, anyway i will elaborate more.

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Aspiring cut the chain of reaction form early beginning, it inhibit cox1 and cox2

Cox1 give thromboxane, it cause vasoconstriction and enhance platelet aggregation witch boost clot formation in your body, that’s why Aspirin is used as prophylaxis to protect the heart in many patient. it inhibit platelet from binding to each other irreversibly.
Relax irreversibly not mean forever, pletlet  

Cox2 gave prostaglandin and interleukin witch is inflammatory mediator that cause pain , fever and inflamation at the site of release.

                                         

                                                                      source

When to use it (Indication)

Aspirin listed as one of the management for hundereds disease, so it is better to descried how it used in category sorted by effect.

1 - In low dose it work as antiplatelet inhibiting platelet aggregation (clot formation)
Used as prophylaxis for heart attack (ischemic heart disease) and ischemic stork.
It also used for some hypercoaguble state like condition called antiphospholipid syndrom
Also used for hypervescosity syndrome, for patients with very high blood cell count that make them vulnerable to ischemic event.

2 – Moderate and high dose work as analgesic, anti-inflammatory  and antipyretic 
Used to control pain, fever, inflammation in many diseases.

3 - Aspirin also have protective mechanism against cancer like Colerectal cancer.

Aspirin gave birth to many other NSAID

NnonSteroid Anti Inflammatory Drug is a group of drugs work in same sites as Aspirin nonselective NSAID, other are more specific selective NSAID, work by inhibiting cox2 witch give the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect without inhibiting cox1, platelet aggregation intact.

             

                                                                     source

Side effect

As you can guess from the mechanism of action Aspirin can cause minor bleeding especially from GI track like stomach.

It also can cause Gastritis and worsening peptic ulcer because it inhibits prostaglandin, the last have protective effect on stomach mucosal lining .

Aspirin like any drug can cause allergy furthermore it can cause harmful bronchospasm (constriction ofalveli) to Asthmatic patient

It is well known that ASA decrease the kidney ability to excrete uric acid so it is contraindicated to use in kidney injury and for Gout patient

Contraindicated in children, it can cause Reye's syndrome but there is only on exception when Aspirin is first choice in children Kawasaki disease witch is inflammatory vasculitis response dramatically to ASA.

sources

uptodate.com
reference.medscape.com
www.didyouknow.cd/aspirin
edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/12/22/aspirin.history/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_aspirin

I hope it helped In a way or another

Please feel free to ask any question,  I will try my best to answer

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