Overdose on aspirin?

[genlock]

The former fundraiser for ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich spoke to a police officer before he died, Country Club Hills Mayor Dwight Welch said Sunday

Christopher Kelly


Christopher Kelly, 51, of Burr Ridge was sitting up on a gurney while being interviewed by the officer, Welch said. Based on what Kelly told the officer, police are “fairly certain” he tried to kill himself, Welch said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office performed an autopsy but said the results are not complete.

Police found “pills” in Kelly’s SUV. Welch would not say whether they were prescription or over-the-counter medication.

Kelly told the officer that he recently had surgery on his “private parts.” Welch said police did not know what type of surgery. Welch said Kelly was hesitant and defensive.



Hoosier Daddy, how many aspirins would it take to kill an adult?

[Hoosier Daddy]

Hoosier Daddy, how many aspirins would it take to kill an adult?

It depends. A lot of people take aspirin to prevent heart attacks. An oversimplistic explanation is that aspirin thins the blood a little, preventing coagulation and (in theory) stopping clot formation in blood vessels that can block a coronary artery and cause heart tissue death. The down side of aspirin use is it may worsen internal bleeding if you have a variety of existing medical problems from stomach ulcers to being a post-op surgery patient. Aspirin "snowballs" drugs like Coumadin that are specifically designed to stop the blood from clotting. If someone had serious medical problems, it wouldn't take anywhere near the normal lethal dose to cause death, but it's a slow and nasty way to die.

As a general rule, about 30-40 adult sized aspirins (325 mg.) could kill you. Before you go, you can have a variety of symptoms including nausea and vomiting, ringing in the ears, tempoary deafness, uncontrolled hyperactivity, dizziness, very rapid breathing, seizures, and then unconsciousness. Lower doses are still dangerous too. Hospitals treat aspirin oversode with charcoal and stomach lavage (the tube down your nose), laxatives, potassium and sodium bicarbonate through an IV, and, in rare cases, you get to be on dialysis for a while.

There are about 10,000 easier ways to kill yourself (or someone else) than by an aspirin overdose -- but it can be done.

[genlock]

Thanks, HD. Good to have an expert on staff.
I figure the guy was snuffed by Blagos minions anyway.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Forgot to mention one very important thing: Time is the biggest friend and enemy of an aspirin overdose. Rapid treatment usually gives almost 100% turnaround. For someone to die of an aspirin overdose, they must forego medical treatment for a very long time and suffer through the aforementioned symptoms without getting any help. Obviously, the longer you wait, the harder it will be for the ER staff to provide that 100% turnaround. They work with what they get when it rolls in the door, and sometimes that's too late.

I figure the guy was snuffed by Blagos minions anyway.

Ding. I doubt most people are even considering any other explanation.

[Bar Rat]

If he was gonna do it with aspirin, he should have drawn a hot bath and slashed his wrists... up and down, not across. The aspirin would thin out the blood so he'd pour like a fountain.

Sheesh. Get it right.

[Bob Campbell]

The good news is, his arthritis pain was totally relieved.

[jag]

And, he was probably relieved of his fever, as well. (In fact, his body temperature is now probably lower than it's ever been before.)

[Hoosier Daddy]

He'll probably never have a fever again. Think about it.

[Bob Campbell]

Aspirin, the wonder drug that works wonders.

[Jet Black]

Just out of curiousity, was the body found in a national park?

Another suspicious aspirin death.... This looks like the work of Big Aspirin!