Risks of taking and alka seltzer 3 days prior surgery?

Each surgeon has different guidelines for preoperative care. Blood thinners should generally be avoided prior to surgery. There are different types of Alka Seltzer so the one you took may or may not be a blood thinner. However, you should consult your surgeon as he or she knows the scope of the surgery and the specifics about you.

In general, it is best to avoid any medications or supplements that can thin the blood at least one week before and after surgery. This includes all aspirin-related products. There are quite a few Alka-Seltzer products and not all of them contain aspirin. You should look at the active ingredients on the bottle label to see if they include aspirin. I would definitely speak to your surgeon and follow his/her advice. The risk of aspirin is excess bleeding during surgery as well as excess bruising afterwards.

It looks like there is aspirin in alka-seltzer original formula. This may be the reason the box recommends avoiding it prior to surgery. Aspirin inhibits platelet function and can cause increased bleeding during and after surgery. I would just call your surgeons office and let them know. Nothing you can do at this point. Best of luck