President Donald Trump admitted in an interview on Thursday that he takes a higher dose of aspirin than what is recommended by his doctors — and said the medication it to blame for bruising often seen on his hands.
“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” he told the The Wall Street Journal. “I take the larger one, but I’ve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.”
According to his doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, Trump takes 325 milligrams a day for “cardiac prevention,” though it’s unclear if his comments meant he takes more than that.
How much aspirin is safe to take?
Healthy adults shouldn’t take more than 4,000 mg of aspirin in a 24-hour period. A standard dose is 325 mg, so that’s no more than 12 tablets a day.
More than that can lead to chronic overdose, which can be tough to spot because the symptoms mimic other conditions.
An acute overdose — having too much at one time — can be caused by taking about 150 mg per kilogram of body weight. Trump’s weight is given as 224 pounds, which would be 15,241 mg or about 47 standard-size tablets.
What happens if you take too much aspirin?
Too much aspirin can lead to aspirin poisoning or aspirin toxicity, which can have several symptoms. These include:
- Tinnitus/ear ringing
- Trouble hearing
- Hyperventilation
- Vomiting
- Dehydration
- Fever
- Double vision
- Feeling faint
- Confusion
- Drowsiness
- Feeling faint
- Unsteadiness on one’s feet
What are common side effects of safe aspirin use?
Aspirin is a blood thinner, so some people are prescribed a daily dose to prevent heart attacks, strokes or blood clots. It can also treat pain, inflammation and arthritis.
Even if you’re taking a safe dosage, there can be some side effects. These include:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Stomach pain
- Heartburn
- Stomach ulcers
In more serious cases, it can lead to internal bleeding, which can cause a person to cough up or vomit blood, have blood in their stool, or have more frequent bleeding.
Can a high dose of aspirin cause bruising?
Yes. In fact, even a low dose can make people bruise more easily.
Bruising occurs when blood leaks out of a broken blood vessel — often due to injury — and gets trapped beneath the skin.
Aspirin blocks the signals telling your blood to clot, which can make blood more likely to leak from a broken blood vessel, causing a bruise.
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