Kathrine Frich
He made it clear that he prefers the maximum strength option.
Routines become deeply ingrained as we get older. We cling to small daily habits because they feel safe, even when medical experts tell us to stop.
For one prominent politician, letting go of a favorite pill feels like asking for trouble.
A monster dose
Donald Trump went off script during a recent political rally in Vandalia, Ohio. Before diving into local business news, the president treated the crowd to a long story about his medicine cabinet.
The topic was his daily aspirin habit. He told his supporters that he ignores advice to take a smaller dose for his heart.
“I take an aspirin a day. I don’t know if it works, but psychologically, I need it,” Trump said, according to HuffPost.
He made it clear that he prefers the maximum strength option. “I take the big one… I take the 386. I don’t know what the hell it is. It’s a monster,” he added.
Ignoring the doctor
Doctors usually recommend a low dose for daily use. Trump refuses to listen. He told the crowd exactly how those doctor visits go.
“They said, ‘Sir, you don’t need that!’ I said, ‘Do me a favor, I’ve been doing OK for 35 years. Leave me alone.’”
Trump admitted feeling superstitious about making a change. He worried aloud that reducing his dosage would trigger a medical emergency.
“I’ll switch to the little tiny one, you know it’s tiny, it doesn’t look right, I’ll switch to that little tiny thing and something bad will happen,” he said. Trump smirked and added, “I’ll say, ‘You son of a bitch, doctor!’”
Blood and bruises
The president eventually connected his health stories back to the event. He used the tangent to praise Bayer for opening a $2.2 billion facility near Columbus, Ohio.
But this is not the first time he has defended his heavy aspirin use. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he explained his reasoning.
“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart. I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?” he told the paper.
The high dose brings side effects. Trump noted the pills cause bruises on his hands, though he covers them. “I have makeup that’s, you know, easy to put on, takes about 10 seconds,” he said.
