Aspirin and Other Heavy Drugs
- August 2012
- Simple Living Climb Dogs
Hey Steph!
Humm.. I guess it’s not a lighthearted topic as usual, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on that.
I read your blog post about steep finger cracks and the aspirin thing. Not sure why but I felt a bit uneasy about it.. Maybe because I’m stubborn and usually avoid taking medicine in general. Anyway, I don’t want to sound judgemental, but it got me thinking: where should people draw the line? After all, as harmless and legal as aspiring can be, it is still something one would take exclusively to improve one’s performance. Then how far could someone stretch that?
On a related topic, something that I always wondered: how does professional climbing stands when it comes to doping? Especially in things like high-end speed alpine ascents, do you think people would take illegal substances? There is surely a lot at stake. Not that professional climbers make fortunes, but they are sponsored to live the life many of us dream of. On one hand I cannot believe that these people I admire so much would do it, but on the other hand I think why would climbing be different from any other elite sport?
Dunno. Am I being silly? And sorry for the heavy topic.
Always, thank you for inspiring us all! Keep spreading awesomeness!
Cheers from Brazil (seems like you have a big fan base here!),
Luiz
Hi Luiz,
Thanks for writing! Aspirin as a performance-enhancing climbing substance is a very interesting idea….and fun to think about for sure. It made me think about all the performance enhancers climbers use, like sugar, ibuprofen, caffeine, alcohol and….well, a few others…. Aspirin is my preferred pain reliever because my vet told me it’s safe for dogs, while ibuprofen and tylenol are not. Apparently the pain reliever in aspirin is derived from willow, while the others are more artificially manufactured. But of course, all the other things I just listed are naturally grown too, and I have never met a climber (or person for that matter) who doesn’t use them. Most climbers are pretty wary of unnatural things or anything that could be unhealthy. I would be pretty shocked to know any climber taking steroids, for example. If anything, I’d say most climbers are too cheap to want to buy stuff like that and too busy climbing to do any research about it anyway đ
And then there’s the whole idea of performance enhancement through climbing shoe rubber, chalk, tape, that new adhesive stuff people are sticking all over elbows and knees, synthetic fabrics, artificial replacement joints, and then the whole other range of information and knowledge that is now available through the internet. Sir Edmund Hillary made an ascent of Everest without nylon anything (including ropes). I saw things change dramatically in Patagonia from my first trip there in 1996 to the present, because people are now able to get accurate weather forecasts at any time, which totally changed the climbing and the level of possibility, more than you could imagine without having lived through that transition. But will people stop checking the weather, now that they can? Will people use inadequate equipment when high-tech tools are now available? Will people stop driving in cars and flying in airplanes to reach remote areas, and will they leave their iphones at base camp? Should they?
Like I said, it’s all some interesting food for thought, and I like pondering all this stuff đ
Thanks for the letter Luiz,
Steph
Steph,
Both aspirin and ibuprofen inhibit inflammation – which contrary to popular belief is a healing response. This is just now being written about in the medical journals. If you hurt after exercise the better pain killer is good hydration practice and alcohol.Â
Best, Kim
Oi, Luiz, vocĂȘ perguntou sobre as ascensĂ”es alpinas: as far as I’m aware of, Hermann Bulh continues to be remembered as an excellent climber, despite his amphetamine-driven first ascent of Nanga Parbat, while others are condemned to sports hell when discovered using chemical stuff to enhance their performance. What determines then what is legal to be used and in what situations and what is plain cheating and doping?
Hi Kim, could you point me to that research you mentioned? Last time I saw an interview about the topic, the researcher said inflammation is basically a process evolved to heal open wounds and can be very damaging for internal stuff. It all made sento to me, and it implies that you should avoid inflammation for climbing injuries. I’ve been eating a lot of anti-inflammatory foods to try to heal my fingers more quickly.
I really like leaving iphones at base camp đ
People will always employ the new technologies – we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t; it’s part of our evolutionary process. Â I do think, though, that it is some of the new technologies (along with much better fitness) that has helped us up the grade level of climbing. Â 5.12s in RAs and EBs would have been tough no matter how buff!
I personally prefer aspirin over Tylenol.  Tylenol is hard on the liver.  If I don’t have a little food with the aspirin, though, I get a bit nauseous.  I have heard that without food, aspirin can actually cause your stomach to bleed a little.  Also, I don’t use it very often – only when really needed.  I always think that minimal use of any pharmaceutical is best, but that’s just my personal take.Â
Cheers!
The question of enhancing one’s performance is really only a problem in highly competition driven sports. I’d like to continue to believe that climbing is still not one. Sure, we’re humans and we like to compare, but ultimately it should be about pushing one’s own limit and having a blast doing it. And if aspirin or whatever other drug is what it takes, so be it…
I also really like Bonnie’s Balms Pain Eraser: it works amazingly well.
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