AMAZING ASPIRIN

What is an aspirin? I can't believe I didn't know one of the most extraordinary medicine until now, even though I've heard about it everywhere. Here's what we learned in Chemistry H. class so far.

What is an aspirin?
-an analgesic agent (pain reliever)
-an antipyretic agent (fewer reducer)
-anti-flammatory agent (inflammation/swelling reducer)
-its active ingredient, salicin, is from willow bark
-too corrosive to be taken by itself, so it's combined with acetylated acid to become acetylsalicylic acid, which is this structure on the right


BUT if aspirin has all these superpowers, why isn't everyone using it everyday?
BECAUSE On top of all these good benefits, aspirin also has its risks and side effects.
-upset stomachs
-nausea
-gastro-intestinal bleeding
-if children who just recovered from chicken pox or the flu take aspirin, they can get Reye's syndrome and die.

Yikes. :/

Still, we learned a lot from this aspirin lesson. Now we know that aspirin isn't some crazy complicated chemical that's too hard for us to actually draw out. "Chemistry is everywhere, even in ordinary everyday things like aspirin," says Priya Shah.