There are a number of anticoagulants, or blood thinners, on the market. These medications, like warfarin and coumadin, these keep clots from forming in your blood stream. That’s why they’re called anticoagulants, as they keep your blood from coagulating. However, you might be surprised to learn about some of the facts regarding blood thinners potential effects on your health. Are blood thinners safe for you to take?
Facts You Need to Know About Blood Thinners
What are Blood Thinners Prescribed For?
Generally speaking, coumadin, warfarin and the like are prescribed to treat issues like blood clots, atrial fibrillation, pulmonary embolisms and various heart surgeries. They are also often prescribed for procedures like hip replacement. Contrary to popular conception, despite being called blood thinners, these medications don’t actually thin out your blood. Instead, they keep your blood from clotting. This can cause issues in some patient.
The most commonly prescribed forms of these medications are coumadin and warfarin. They work primarily by blocking K vitamins from operating in the blood. Vitamin K is the molecule responsible for causing platelets to clump together and clot. The use of this medication in recent years has widened to include treatment of atrial fibrillation.
Other Forms of Blood Thinners
Warfarin and coumadin are the most common types of blood thinners prescribed, but they’re not the only medications out there for those with atrial fibrillation and the like. Since 2010, in fact, several notable medications have been released. These include Xarelto, Eliquis, and Pradaxa which can also treat conditions like deep vein thrombosis.
Warfarin and coumadin require frequent blood tests in order to check on the patient’s liver. Unlike those medications, however, these newer medications have no such restrictions and are generally considered to be “safer” on the liver.
Blood thinners like these are often taken in pill form, and they need not be taken with food in order to be effective. This is a commonly misunderstood aspect of anticoagulants. However, unlike coumadin and warfarin, these new medications don’t interact with as many foods.
For instance, on traditional blood thinners, you need to be careful about eating foods that can include Vitamin K. Additionally you should also avoid ibuprofen and aspirin, as well as alcohol. This isn’t the case with these newer medications.
Side Effects
No anticoagulants are completely without side effects, of course. Whether you’re prescribed traditional anticoagulants or newer ones, there are a few things to keep in mind about these medications. The most major side effect to keep in mind is that these medications keep your blood from clotting even when you are injured. Remember, blood clotting is how your body stops itself from bleeding.
So, in general, you need to avoid becoming injured in such a way that you would bleed. This probably sounds like a “well, duh,” piece of advice, but it’s worth noting. You don’t usually seek out injuries that will cause you to bleed, but while on blood thinners you need to double down on avoiding the sharp ends of things.
In the evident that you do become injured or get cut, you need to apply pressure to injury right away. Apply constant pressure following the event until the bleeding subsides. This replicates your body’s normal processes to keep from bleeding. This is the simple one: more serious injuries are the ones that result in internal bleeding.
If you incur a fall or something similar that could result in internal bleeding, keep your eyes open for unusually swelling and seek medial attention immediately in the case this occurs. If you don’t you might experience serious injury or worse.
Non-Injury Side Effects
There are other side effects related to anticoagulants that aren’t tied up in injuries. For instance, upset stomach, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal issues are occasionally reported while taking anticoagulants. Other effects include headaches and dizziness, fever and aches, and general flu-like effects.
Due to these types of side effects, it’s widely recommended that those on this medication wear identification that explains they’re on anticoagulants. This is because, in the event of injury, doctors need to know that your blood won’t be clotting. If you go into surgery and the doctors don’t know that your blood isn’t going to clot then you’ll likely not survive the procedure.
Hopefully this information is helpful to you. Remember, never take medication that you aren’t prescribed by your doctor, and only take the amount that you’re directed to by your doctor. If your doctor thinks anticoagulants are right for your condition, discuss potential side effects, foods to avoid and behaviors to engage in while on it.