PRP If You Take Aspirin, Blood Thinners or Ibuprofen: What to Discuss Before Treatment

A safe preparation plan begins with your medicines, not a generic stop rule.

If you take aspirin, clopidogrel, an anticoagulant or regular anti-inflammatory medicine, tell the clinician before booking PRP. Do not stop a prescribed medicine to fit a treatment appointment. The reason you take it, the injection site and your bleeding risk matter more than a generic instruction to "avoid blood thinners".

Contact The London PRP Clinic for a suitability discussion or call 020 3951 3429. Bring the names and doses of your medicines. A careful assessment can identify when PRP should wait, when another treatment is a better fit and what needs discussion with your usual prescriber.

Why medication review matters

PRP is prepared from your own blood and contains concentrated platelets. Platelets help release signalling proteins when activated. Medicines can affect platelet function, but laboratory effects and clinical treatment outcomes are not the same thing.

A 2020 systematic review in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine included 15 studies of antiplatelet and anti-inflammatory medicines. Eight reported a decrease in growth factors or mitogenesis. Results depended in part on how the platelets were activated. The review found limited high-quality data and called for further clinical research.

That is a reason for an individual medication review, not proof that aspirin will make PRP fail. Nor does it prove that stopping aspirin improves hair growth, skin results or knee pain. A clinic should explain that uncertainty rather than sell a universal preparation rule.

Aspirin and anticoagulants are not interchangeable

Aspirin and other antiplatelet medicines act on platelets. Anticoagulants act through a different part of clotting. Their indications and the risks of changing them differ. A simple label such as "blood thinner" is not enough for a safe decision.

Tell the clinician the exact name, dose and reason for each medicine, including whether it was prescribed after a heart attack, stroke or clot. Do not omit a medicine because the dose seems small. If a change is being considered, it should be agreed with the appropriate prescriber and documented, including when to restart it.

Ask the clinic about suitability before paying for a course. Assessment comes before a treatment schedule.

What about ibuprofen and other painkillers?

A 2022 systematic review in the same journal found that aspirin and non-selective NSAIDs could reduce platelet aggregation in the studies reviewed. It also examined other medicines and found that their effects were not identical. These studies mainly measured platelet behaviour, not whether a particular patient's PRP treatment succeeded.

Do not use this article to choose an alternative painkiller or stop a prescribed one. Tell the team what you use, how often and why. Ask for advice that accounts for kidney disease, stomach problems, other medicines and the reason you need pain relief. A single "stop for seven days" instruction is not supplied here because it would ignore those differences.

Medical conditions also belong in the discussion

The 2025 GRIIP consensus addresses infectious, oncological and haematological conditions in musculoskeletal PRP. It is expert consensus, largely low-level evidence, not a guarantee of safety. It specifically does not settle medication interactions and should not be presented as a hair or facial PRP guideline.

Tell the clinician about recent infection, active cancer treatment, a blood disorder, a low platelet count, unusual bruising or immune-suppressing treatment. These details can change whether an elective injection is appropriate and whether advice from another specialist is needed. Do not interpret a normal blood count as a blanket clearance for treatment.

A medication-review checklist

• List every prescribed medicine with its dose and reason for use.
• Include over-the-counter painkillers, supplements and occasional medicines.
• Mention previous bleeding, clots and unusual bruising.
• Bring recent relevant blood results if you already have them.
• Explain which PRP treatment you are considering: hair, skin or joint.
• Ask whether any change is necessary, who will authorise it and what happens if it cannot safely be made.
• Ask about alternatives and the limits of the evidence for your condition.

The most useful preparation instruction is one that is safe for you and written clearly. If there is disagreement between a clinic instruction and your prescriber's advice, resolve it before proceeding.

Cost and the decision to proceed

The clinic's rate card is £750 for joint PRP and £450 per hair session. Three hair sessions are £1,215. Facial PRP is £450, including under-eye treatment. A price is not a recommendation: the condition, medication review and realistic goal come first. Ask the team to confirm what is included and what follow-up is planned before committing.

Discuss your treatment options, call the clinic or email an enquiry. Please do not send urgent medical concerns and wait for a routine reply.

Common questions

Can I have PRP while taking aspirin?

Possibly, but it requires an individual assessment. Do not stop aspirin yourself. Laboratory evidence of altered platelet function does not establish the best clinical choice for everyone.

Should I stop an anticoagulant before PRP?

Not without a plan agreed by the appropriate clinician. The risk of changing the medicine and the risks of the procedure must both be considered.

Does using my own blood mean there is no bleeding risk?

No. PRP preparation and the injection are still medical procedures. Medication review is part of deciding whether treatment is appropriate.

Does this advice apply equally to hair, skin and knees?

No. The relevant condition, procedure and evidence differ. The GRIIP comorbidity consensus is specifically for musculoskeletal use. Do not generalise its recommendations to every PRP service.

Evidence

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020: effects of antiplatelet and NSAID medicines on PRP; 2022 systematic review of medicines and platelet count/function; GRIIP formal consensus, 2025. This guide does not provide a stop-and-restart schedule or an individual clearance for PRP.

Enquire with The London PRP Clinic for a treatment decision that considers your whole medical picture.

Message the team on WhatsApp to ask about assessment before PRP.