" ... the fact that he was spending day after day in bed
being dosed with aspirin did nothing to improve his strength."
I came across this when reading Humphrey Carpenter's biography of J.R.R. Tolkien and was reminded of a connection that I'd read about concerning aspirin and the Spanish Flu that broke out at the end of the First World War. The quote above relates to Tolkien's recuperation in hospital from so-called trench fever contracted during his stint in the trenches at the Somme.
You'd be hard pressed to find too many people who could make a connection between aspirin and the Spanish Flu and that's why it stuck in my head. I came across the idea in a book by John Hamer titled OUR DISTORTED REALITY.
Here is part of what he had to say about the role of aspirin:
The 20 to 50 million deaths during 1918 have long been attributed to a virulent new virus but the NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) has now clearly stated that common upper respiratory bacteria was responsible, not a new virus. There was no new deadly virus but there was something new in 1918 and that was toxic aspirin, being used in totally inappropriate, dangerous dosages.
“... just before the 1918 death spike, aspirin was recommended in regimens now known to be potentially toxic and to cause pulmonary oedema and may therefore have contributed to overall pandemic mortality and several of its mysteries. Young adult mortality may be explained by willingness to use the new, recommended therapy and the presence of youth in regimented treatment settings (military)” stated Dr. Karen Starko.
Use of Bayer aspirin and other generic aspirin suppressed immunity, allowing the bacteria to develop into a massive bacterial infections and pneumonias. In addition to the deaths by pneumonia, the use of Bayer aspirin (and generic versions) at toxic doses can explain the lingering mysteries of extremely rapid deterioration from health to death as well as the death of young, apparently otherwise healthy people. Bayer's heavy advertising and government and medical recommendations fuelled use of both Bayer aspirin and generic versions.
Based on the primary role that aspirin played in the millions of 1918 deaths versus the survival of those who avoided it in favour of natural treatments, it would suggest that 1918 was not a plague caused by a virus, but a pharmaceutical industry issue. And given the scale of the deaths, it was without question, the greatest medical catastrophe in human history, exceeding even the ‘Great Plague’ of the Dark and Middle Ages.Here is a New York Times article that discusses Dr. Karen Starko's findings:
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| A nurse took a patient's pulse in the influenza ward at Walter Reed Hospital in 1918. Corbis |
In 1918 Pandemic, Another Possible Killer: Aspirin
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR OCT. 12, 2009
The 1918 flu epidemic was probably the deadliest plague in human history, killing more than 50 million people worldwide. Now it appears that a small number of the deaths may have been caused not by the virus, but by a drug used to treat it: aspirin.
Dr. Karen M. Starko, author of one of the earliest papers connecting aspirin use with Reye’s syndrome, has published an article suggesting that overdoses of the relatively new “wonder drug” could have been deadly.
What raised Dr. Starko’s suspicions is that high doses of aspirin, amounts considered unsafe today, were commonly used to treat the illness, and the symptoms of aspirin overdose may have been difficult to distinguish from those of the flu, especially among those who died soon after they became ill.
Some doubts were raised even at the time. At least one contemporary pathologist working for the Public Health Service thought that the amount of lung damage seen during autopsies in early deaths was too little to attribute to viral pneumonia, and that the large amounts of bloody, watery liquid in the lungs must have had some other cause.
Dr. Starko acknowledged that she did not have autopsy reports or other documents that could prove that aspirin was the problem. “There was a lot of chaos in these places,” she said, “and I’m not sure if there are good records anywhere.”
But of the many factors that might have influenced the outcome in any particular case, Dr. Starko wrote, aspirin overdose stands out for several reasons, including a confluence of historical events.
In February 1917, Bayer lost its American patent on aspirin, opening a lucrative drug market to many manufacturers. Bayer fought back with copious advertising, celebrating the brand’s purity just as the epidemic was reaching its peak.
Aspirin packages were produced containing no warnings about toxicity and few instructions about use. In the fall of 1918, facing a widespread deadly disease with no known cure, the surgeon general and the United States Navy recommended aspirin as a symptomatic treatment, and the military bought large quantities of the drug.
The Journal of the American Medical Association suggested a dose of 1,000 milligrams every three hours, the equivalent of almost 25 standard 325-milligram aspirin tablets in 24 hours. This is about twice the daily dosage generally considered safe today.
Dr. Starko’s paper, published in the Nov. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, has stirred some interest, if not enthusiastic endorsement, among other experts.“I think the paper is creative and asking good questions,” said John M. Barry, author of a book on the 1918 flu titled “The Great Influenza.” “But we don’t know how many people actually took the doses of aspirin discussed in the article.”
The pharmacology of aspirin is complex and was not fully understood until the 1960s, but dosage is crucial. Doubling the dose given at six-hour intervals can cause a 400 percent increase in the amount of the medicine that remains in the body. Even quite low daily doses — six to nine standard aspirin pills a day for several days — can lead to dangerously high blood levels of the drug in some people.
Peter A. Chyka, a professor of pharmacy at the University of Tennessee, said he found Dr. Starko’s theory “intriguing.” Little was known about safe dosages at the time, he said, and doctors often simply raised the amount until they saw signs of toxicity.
“In the context of what we know today about aspirin and aspirin-like products, Starko has made an interesting effort to put this together,” Dr. Chyka said. “There are things other than flu that can complicate a disease like this.”
Although he doubted that more than a small number of deaths could be attributed to aspirin overdose, Dr. David M. Morens, an epidemiologist with the National Institutes of Health, said the paper was valuable in that “it makes an attempt to look at environmental or host factors that may be involved.” He said, “We haven’t been able to explain all the deaths in young adults with the virus itself.”
Dr. Starko was hesitant to estimate how many deaths aspirin overdose could have caused, but suggested that military archives might be one place to look. “I’m hoping others will follow up,” she said, “by examining available treatment records.”
Of course, it's emphasised that only a small number of deaths could have been caused by aspirin overdose but, as is admitted, nobody really knows how many. Once the possibility of aspirin being a factor in the death toll is admitted, the supposition that its effect was minimal is unscientific. One can equally assert that it had a major effect. Only more research can resolve the issue.
Of course, this news has done little to affect the official narrative that a deadly influenza virus came out of nowhere and killed millions of people, many of them in their prime. The pharmaceutical industry thrives on the fear that another such virus may emerge at any time and sweep most of humanity away. Therefore, don't forget your annual flu shot!
Getting back to Tolkien, he did have a couple of further hospitalisations and never returned to the trenches. As his long suffering wife Edith sarcastically wrote in a letter to him:
‘I should think you ought never to feel tired again,’ Edith wrote, ‘for the amount of Bed you have had since you came back from France nearly two years ago is enormous.’Whether he was taking aspirin during his time between hospital interludes is unknown but it is probable that he was because it was widely available. What Hamer has done in respect to the Spanish Flu is to introduce an element of doubt into the official narrative. He hasn't done this by making any wild claims but instead has used the findings of medical professionals.
