So the kids school sent home their latest “How to be a Parent” sheet instructing us how to treat our children when sick[sup]1[/sup].
I’ve found a few links like this which say there may be a link between aspirin and Reyes, but thought I’d ask here for the straight dope. Is there a link between aspirin and Reye’s, and how much of a link?
Thanks
[sup]1[/sup]I’m a little peeved about these things (can you tell?) - I guess I take them personally.
Sorry, I’m in the middle of doing two different things - I guess I should mention the “How to be a parent” sheet tells us not to give our children aspirin because it’s been linked to Reyes Syndrome.
Now I burning your dog!
My cousin’s son died from being given aspirin when he had the chicken pox. I believe it has to do with a genetic propensity to Reyes Syndrome, but with so many other choices out there, why take the chance? Stevie died over twenty years ago so his mom didn’t have the vast array of OTC fever reducers available today.
Not to be insensitive, Bug, but that’s not point. The available info is vague at best, in a “studies have show aspirin may be linked to Reyes syndrome” kind of way. I was hoping to learn more about what evidence actually exists linking the two.
I mean, do children who take tylenol while they have the chicken pox develop Reyes that much less frequently? Is aspirin the only factor? What studies were conducted, and what did they actually show?
The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Treatment says that Reyes’ syndrome is definitely linked to the consumption of salicylates (acetylsalicylate = aspirin) concurrent with severe viral infection in people under 18 years of age. It also says that there are something like 100-200 cases of it a year, mostly during the flu season, and that susceptibility appears to run in families. The disease progresses through five stages; the child is conscious though groggy and irritable during the first two and, if caught at this time, the syndrome is practically never fatal.
The short end of it is that the likelihood your kid will die from being given aspirin while he’s sick is quite low; however, as Bugnorton pointed out, why take the chance?
Pepto Bismol also contains aspirin…just in case you wanna be safer than sorry.
Otherwise, B. feed your kid aspirin when you have other choices that haven’t been associated to bleeding stomachs and fatal complications. I don’t care. (I realized that was kinda nasty after re-reading it, but I had already posted. Sorry.)
The etiology of Reye’s syndrome remains unproven. Reye’s syndrome is characterized by mitochondrial failure with subsequent viral prodrome, vomiting, and encephalopathy (possible delirium, seizures, stupor, coma). Several case-control studies have shown a statistical association between aspirin use during a viral prodrome and subsequent Reye syndrome. The incidence of Reye syndrome dropped off sharply after doctors stopped routinely prescribing aspirin for pediatric fever. It still has a place in pericarditis and some other illnesses. Use of Peto-Bismol should also be avoided in children with flu-like illness or chicken pox due to theoretical risks of Reye syndrome.
Case-control studies cannot prove causation, however, and it would be unethical at this point to do a randomized control trial.
There is a correlation between Aspirin and Reye’s syndrome, but I don’t believe any causation has ever been proven. However, hospitals and doctors no longer use aspirin in kids with fever and since that change, as Dr. Paprika pointed out, the number of Reye’s syndrome cases has dropped off substantially. It really just doesn’t seem worth the risk anymore.