Alka Seltzer

SteveGrenard

Philosopher
S
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Oct 6, 2002
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Has anyone ever stopped to look at the ingredients and their amounts on regular and extra stremgth Alka Seltzer tablets?

I suggest anyone with hypertension, kidney problems, diabetes, or heart disease at risk of CHF, etc. do so. The only warning on this drug is about Reyes Syndrome. Should there be others?
 
As a kid, I used to pinch one from my mother's med. box and just suck it. This made me look like I had rabies, which is pretty cool when you're six.
 
When you're six Alka Seltzer is not a problem....at least I would hope so. But:

Since nobody has gotten it yet, I'll reveal what I am referring to. Each regular strength Alka Seltzer tablet contains not only 325 mgs (adult dose) of aspirin but 1,916 mgs of
sodium as NaHCO3. Two tablets containing 3,832 mgs of Sodium constitutes the average
dose although there are folks who dissolve three. Two tablets equals about 2 X the maximum daily allowable dose of Sodium plus they are ingested in a few swallows.
Anyone with chronic heart failure can develop CHF and pulmonary edema.
Anyone with hypertension can spike their blood pressure on this dose and anyone with
kidney problems can permanently impair their kidneys if they take this drug on a regular basis. What's more aspirin can impede the effect of loop diuretics such as Lasix and
by themselves can cause sodium retention.

The only warning on this product is for Reyes Syndrome because of the aspirin. I am wondering if anyone here feels that heart, hypertension and kidney patients should be warned as well?
 
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Don't know enough biochem. to answer that. I'd have thought in a drug that has been around as long this must have come up before?
 
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I would assume that the FDA doesn't feel a need to put disclaimers and cautions for all those on the label because those people who have chronic heart disease, kidney disease, and severe hypertension problems are already aware--have already been made aware by their doctors--of the dangers of using Alka-Seltzer and other OTC medications that might affect their condition.

The warning about Reyes is there because Reyes strikes unexpectedly, and it targets people who are otherwise healthy (other than having the flu), thus delivering a nasty surprise. So the FDA is doing its bit to get the word out about Reyes by putting it on the label.

You're also not supposed to take aspirin if you have a bleeding disorder, like hemophilia, or a recent history of stomach or intestinal bleeding, or liver disease, or gout, but again, the FDA assumes that if you have those particular health problems, you will already have been informed by your doctor not to take medications with aspirin in them.

Really, there's a limit as to how much the Feds can be expected to protect us from ourselves.
 
NEW! ALKA SELTZER for UPSET STOMACH! PLOP PLOP FIZZ FIZZ!

WARNING: Not to be taken by anyone for anything. This stuff is poison. Just put the bottle back on the supermarket shelf where you found it and walk away, OK? Off you go now. Drop it...just drop it. Good, now walk away. Excellent! Keep going...don't even look back...
 
Just a quick chem note : 1916 mg of NaHCO3 is not 1,916 mg of sodium. Only app. 445mg of that is sodium (moles, masses, %composition)so even 3 tablets is about half the
ca. 2300mg max recommended intake of Na. I personally wouldn't use AS however - tastes terrible - and adding lemon just makes it worse.
 
Goshawk said:
I would assume that the FDA doesn't feel a need to put disclaimers and cautions for all those on the label because those people who have chronic heart disease, kidney disease, and severe hypertension problems are already aware--have already been made aware by their doctors--of the dangers of using Alka-Seltzer and other OTC medications that might affect their condition.
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Who takes Alka Seltzer when they haven't very recently f***ed themselves up on alcohol anyway? Doctors tend to prioritise alcohol when it comes to advice. Spoil-sports.
 
SteveGrenard said:
..daily allowable dose...
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Not the daily allowable, but the daily recommended dose.

SteveGrenard said:
of Sodium plus they are ingested in a few swallows.
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So are all pills. What does that have to do with anything?

SteveGrenard said:
Anyone with chronic heart failure can develop CHF and pulmonary edema.
Anyone with hypertension can spike their blood pressure on this dose and anyone with
kidney problems can permanently impair their kidneys if they take this drug on a regular basis. What's more aspirin can impede the effect of loop diuretics such as Lasix and
by themselves can cause sodium retention.

The only warning on this product is for Reyes Syndrome because of the aspirin. I am wondering if anyone here feels that heart, hypertension and kidney patients should be warned as well?
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Since the amount is well below the recommended dose, will you retract your unneccesary alarmist warning?
 
From the information here:

http://www.alka-seltzer.com/as/as_original.htm

Alka Seltzer contains 567 mg of Sodium per tab (there is also sodium with the ASA). Under "warnings" is "Ask a doctor before use if you have...a sodium-restricted diet".

I see this all the time - someone with an exacerbation of CHF due to excess sodium ingestion. Rarely (if ever) does it happen in spite of due diligence.

Linda
 
Since the amount is well below the recommended dose, will you retract your unneccesary alarmist warning?
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Actually no. The daily recommended or whatever you want to call it dose is over the course of the day. This very high dose of sodium for regular strength alka seltzer or
extra strength alka seltzer is swallowed in a few gulps over a few minutes. Hence the sodium load for people with certain prexisting conditions including chronic heart failure and hypertension is much larger than one would assume when looking at the global numbers and sodium content foods eaten over the course of the day. If you look at the sodium content of many foods on the shelf you will see they are often in the double digits, below 100 mgs per designated portion. And these are not considered low sodium foods. There are also traditionally highly salty foods with humongous numbers. The situation for healthy people is not the same for the aforementioned pre-existing conditions. Healthy people can tolerate and handle high sodium loads people with CHF, HTN and kidney problems cannot.

My original concern is based on an actual case history. When you consider how many people have been taking AS for headaches and upset stomachs for decades, with good and quick results and without looking at the sodium content, then one wonders how many of these folks (with the common pre-existing conditions) get themselves into serious trouble after they take this product. Add to that the fact that aspirin, which is also found in this drug, is known both to tend to retain sodium as well as impair the effect of the loop diuretic Lasix (which many CHF and HTN patients are on), then
perhaps a warning should be considered. A report has been made to FDA's Medwatch.

I appreciate everyone's feedback on this and would appreciate more opinions on this subject.

"Ask a doctor before use if you have...a sodium-restricted diet".
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Thanks for finding this statement on their website. It is not on the box or the packets
and perhaps by itself is evidence that it should be.
 
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If you are on a sodium-restricted diet, why would you need to ask your doctor if you should take ~50% of the recommended daily maximum sodium intake for a healthy adult in a few gulps?
 
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Extra strength Alka Seltzer has 588 mgs of sodium per tablet. The std dose is two tablets, = to 1076 mgs of sodium. A lot of people take 3 or 1,664 mgs of sodium per half a glass of water (used to dissolve the tablets). There is also more aspirin in extra strength, 500 mgs I believe. Two tablets = 1000 mgs of aspirin, 3 tablets obviously = 1500. That's also a lot of aspirin for a single dose if you are a HTN, heart or kidney patient at risk for sodium retention and/or if you're on Lasix which these patients frequently are.

My point is this is a lot of sodium to take over a few minutes and I was recently made aware of a case where a HTN/CHF patient with an upset stomach swallowed some AS then nearly died as a result. And it was not an allergic reaction. It was flash pulmonary edema, CHF, BP=over 200/100. My point is that Speedy Alka Seltzer has been around for a very long time and a lot of people might think it is completely safe and harmless. If they go to their website they will see the warnings but the package continues to perpetuate the myth. Bayer is also saying they are going to bring back Sir Speedy, their happy Alka Seltzer cartoon character to market this product. I was surprised also when speaking with a few doctors that they admitted they had not realized just how much sodium was in these things.

My point also was to get feedback from members here.

How many knew about the sodium and aspirin problems in AS and how many did not?

How many people who have used and continue to use a common OTC med like Alka Seltzer would even bother to look it up on the internet if they could?

I would be interested in getting a feel for this as well.

Anyway those are my points. Once again thanks to those who have responded with positive information and queries.
 
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Ivor the Engineer said:
If you are on a sodium-restricted diet, why would you need to ask your doctor if you should take ~50% of the recommended daily maximum sodium intake for a healthy adult in a few gulps?
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As an engineer I am sure you can appreciate the difference between something coming at you over time versus all at once. The load would be much larger, the body's ability to handle it much less. But a good question.
 
Zep said:
So what's your actual point, Steve? Get to the point, please.
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This:

SteveGrenard said:
My original concern is based on an actual case history.
...
A report has been made to FDA's Medwatch.
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Steve wants to create a modern medical myth. To become another Andrew Wakefield, or Paul Brodeur. You know: Scare people.

SteveGrenard said:
My point is this is a lot of sodium to take over a few minutes and I was recently made aware of a case where a HTN/CHF patient with an upset stomach swallowed some AS then nearly died as a result. And it was not an allergic reaction. It was flash pulmonary edema, CHF, BP=over 200/100.
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Note that Steve doesn't provide any sources of this one-time case.

SteveGrenard said:
How many knew about the sodium and aspirin problems in AS and how many did not?
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Note that Steve has gone from asking leading questions about the possible danger of Alka Selzer to establishing that there are problems with not just sodium, but also aspirin.

SteveGrenard said:
Anyway those are my points. Once again thanks to those who have responded with positive information and queries.
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Note that Steve is not interested in negative information that proves him wrong.

This will be a classic example of a pseudoscience scare. One more for the article.
 
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