Alka-Seltzer Original Effervescent Tablets 20

What is Alka-Seltzer Original Effervescent Tablets 20?

Alka-Seltzer Original is an effervescent aspirin tablet — 324mg of acetylsalicylic acid per tablet — that you drop into a glass of water and drink once it has dissolved. It is licensed for pain including headache, migraine, period pain, neuralgia, toothache and sore throat, and for the symptomatic relief of rheumatic aches and the feverishness of flu and feverish colds.

How does it help?

When tissue is injured or inflamed it releases prostaglandins, the chemicals that make nerve endings report pain and that push your temperature up. Aspirin blocks the enzymes that produce them, so the pain signal is turned down and a fever is brought back towards normal. Because the tablet dissolves first, the dose reaches the stomach already in solution.

Key benefits

• Relieves headache, period pain, toothache, sore throat and the aches of flu and feverish colds
• Taken as a drink, which suits people who dislike swallowing tablets
• 20 tablets in the pack
• Available without a prescription, with pharmacy advice on hand

Who should take care?

Always read the patient information leaflet before use. Not for anyone under 16 — aspirin is associated with Reye's syndrome in children. Do not take it if you have or have had a stomach ulcer or bleeding from the stomach, a bleeding disorder, severe kidney, liver or heart failure, or if you have ever had asthma, wheezing or an allergic reaction after taking aspirin or an anti-inflammatory painkiller. It is not for use in the third trimester of pregnancy or while breastfeeding. Each tablet contains 477mg of sodium — around a quarter of the recommended daily maximum — so it does not suit a low-salt diet. Do not take it with other aspirin or anti-inflammatory products, and tell us if you take blood thinners or methotrexate. Our pharmacist checks it is right for you before it is dispensed.