Jump to content

OTC Blood thinners?


Genecks

Recommended Posts

Aspirin *is* a blood thinner. That's why folks take it to prevent heart attacks - it makes the blood less viscous and allows flow through nearly-clogged arteries.

 

I doubt there's any direct effect on blood viscosity.

Aspirin inhibits platelet binding which is why they give it to prevent heart attacks.

 

I wonder if anyone should be following advice obtained here, rather than from their doctor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The word "blood thinner' is a pretty generic term, but in the medical field we usually designate it as an "anti-coagulant" such as heparin and coumadin, which exert their mechanism of action on the coagulation cascade. These are used for in general preventing clots induced from coagulation factors, and people who take these meds are monitored weekly for their PT/INR (coumadin) and PTT (heparin) so that their blood doesn't get too thin. These patients also have a risk of having long bleeding times because of the meds and thus if let's say they have a history of GI bleed, we would not give them these because they could bleed to death.

 

Aspirin on the other hand works on inhibiting platelet aggregation and is used for preventing thrombus-induced heart attacks (most heart attacks are caused by platelets coming together to form a clot after a plaque ruptures). I guess you could consider that a blood thinner but so I like to regard it as an "anti-platelet". You may be familiar with Plavix (clopidogrel) which does the same thing but has a different mechanism of action.

 

Anyway, to answer your question to the best of my ability, there are no anti coagulants that are OTC, since they are potentially dangerous drugs. In regard to anti platelets, the only one I know is OTC is aspirin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll accept aspirin in all its molecularityness to fit a definition of a blood thinning agent.

 

No one has asked for medical advice in this thread.

 

Technincally, if I ask an undercover police officer where I can buy cannabis I may not be trying to buy it; but I don't think the jury would see it that way.

 

Incidentally, I'm afraid that Karnage is mistaken- though their input is generally very helpful.

You can buy anticoagulants over the counter.

They are commonly found labeled as rat poison.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warfarin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.