The use of aspirin in a young child

Can I give a six-year-old child aspirin or adult medications?

Can I give a six-year-old child aspirin or adult medications? (which I use myself, e.g. half a tablet)?

No, aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is contraindicated in children under 12 years of age due to the risk of treatment complications such as Rey’s syndrome, aspirin-induced asthma or gastrointestinal complications (bleeding). Pharmacotherapy for children is different from that used in adults. This is due to, inter alia, a different course of metabolic processes responsible for the biotransformation of drugs (metabolism and excretion) or a different way in which the child’s body reacts to the drug. For this reason, children must not be given an adult medication without consulting a doctor first. In most cases, doses of the drug are calculated according to body weight, so it must not be assumed that a proportional reduction in the amount of the drug used in an adult will be appropriate for a child.

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