What Doctors Don't Tell YouBritain’s drug watchdog, the Committee on Safety of Medicines, is finally recognising the dangers that aspirin represents to children.
A 13-year-old child died from Reye’s syndrome last April – and so the CSM has belatedly responded by raising the minimum age that children can safely take aspirin from 12 years to 16. We understand that there are other cases that have not yet been reported.
Reye’s syndrome is a rare condition that affects the liver and brain. It happens when a viral infection and aspirin combine.
It’s a connection that has been recognized and well documented since 1963, so it’s a comfort to know that our wellbeing is in the hands of an organisation such as the CSM which, as always, responds with breathtaking speed whenever public health is in jeopardy.
Daniel Redwood DC
Tom Ferguson MD
