But I'll bet if you ask your patients what's in Alka-Selzer, only a handful of them would be able to tell you that it contains both aspirin and sodium bicarbonate. But, if they don't have pain, if they don't have some need for taking aspirin, then their better choice would be for Alka-Selzer Gold.

But even that could cause a problem -- because remember, sodium bicarbonate in your patient with a restricted salt intake diet is going to blow their salt restriction with two or three tablets a day of something like Alka-Selzer Gold, or for that matter, Arm & Hammer baking soda. Yet people don't think twice.

Copyright 2001