Aspirin is a typical antipyretic and analgesic drug sold at pharmacies and drugstores. Although the brand name is the same, the adult version contains aspirin, but the pediatric version contains different ingredients. This is because it has become clear that children may experience side effects if they drink it.
Aspirin has a history of more than 100 years, but in 1982, a U.S. intestinal survey revealed that children who took salicylic acid drugs such as aspirin were more likely to develop a disease called Reye's syndrome.
Reye syndrome was first reported in 1963 by Australian pathologist Reye et al. The disease mainly involves children under the age of 16 who suddenly vomit five to seven days after contracting influenza or chickenpox, become dizzy after a few hours, and in severe cases develop acute encephalopathy such as convulsions and die. It is.
The cause was thought to be a viral infection, but when the cause was unclear, a report emerged in the United States of a patient who had taken salicylic acid drugs such as aspirin while suffering from influenza or chickenpox. .
It was found that the incidence of Reye's syndrome was clearly higher than that of patients who were not taking the medicine, so a campaign to avoid taking aspirin for influenza in children and revisions to the drug's package inserts reduced the incidence of Reye's syndrome. Ta. In response to research results in the United States, Japan will issue drug information and drug side effect information to alert doctors and general consumers about the relationship between salicylic acid drugs and Reye's syndrome when infected with influenza or chickenpox. At the same time, he organized a research team on Reye's syndrome and conducted research in Japan. As a result, it becomes clear that the amount of aspirin administered and consumed is lower than in the United States, and the incidence of Reye's syndrome is also significantly lower.
Although further research continued and it was not possible to conclude that there was a link between Reye's syndrome and aspirin, it became clear that even more caution should be taken when using salicylates in children. In 1999, the former Ministry of Health and Welfare revised the precautions for salicylic acid drugs such as aspirin used by doctors to ``as a general rule, they should not be administered to patients with chickenpox or influenza under the age of 15.'' They requested that instructions for use for children be removed from the package inserts of cold medicines and antipyretic analgesics sold in stores.
Currently, in order to protect children from the harm of drugs, formulations containing only aspirin, an over-the-counter antipyretic analgesic, are not approved for use in children.
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