Monday Answer
Gary Smyth
Dale , John, & Don gave me an early day. Dale large, as first, and John and Don small gold stars for not being so prompt. No use hanging around till this evening.
Willow is the answer I was looking for. Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species. The medicine is aspirin. Aspirin (USAN), also known as acetylsalicylic acid (pronounced ə-SET-əl-sal-i-SIL-ik, abbreviated ASA), is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication.(can you even imagine the price and wealth possible had it not been released and been patented as drug companies do today?)
From the University of Maryland Medical Center
Because of the danger of developing Reye syndrome (a rare but serious illness associated with the use of aspirin in children), children under the age of 16 (some other sources say age 5) should not be given willow bark or tea made from it.
(From the web. Check on your own--this is FYI as a explanation of possibility)
Reye's syndrome is a potentially fatal disease that causes numerous detrimental effects to many organs, especially the brain and liver, as well as causing hypoglycemia. The disease causes fatty liver with minimal inflammation and severe encephalopathy (with swelling of the brain). The liver may become slightly enlarged and firm, and there is a change in the appearance of the kidneys. Early diagnosis is vital; while most children recover with supportive therapy, severe brain injury or death are potential complications.
