London, May 9 (ANI): Sex beast Josef Fritzl treated his cellar family only with aspirin as they battled serious illness and disease in their mould-infested dungeon.

The 73-year-old admitted daughter Elisabeth and the children suffered a string of health problems while deprived of fresh air and natural light.

But Fritzl never consulted doctors nor sought prescription drugs for them in case he was exposed.

Instead he bought only over-the-counter remedies from a chemist.

The electrical engineer forced the family to take aspirin as a cure-all even though he knew they suffered a hereditary allergy to it.

Fritzl told how Elisabeth fought to keep her family healthy in the cellar, in which he had fitted only a basic air conditioning unit.

She fought to stave off illness by keeping a tidy house and ensuring her brood washed daily and ate well. And she played games with them to keep them sane.

Deranged Fritzl claimed he too went to great lengths to make life "normal".

"I tried really hard to look after my family. I bought my daughter flowers and the children books and cuddly toys. I used to watch videos with them while Elisabeth cooked for us," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

"Then we used to sit at the table with each other," he said.

But Fritzl confessed the damp, dimly lit environment ravaged the cellar family's health.

He said: "Elisabeth stayed strong for the children. But the children - I saw they were constantly getting weaker."

The youngsters fell victim to an array of troubles including flu, coughing fits, epilepsy and heart and circulation problems.

But still Fritzl forced them to cope with just pills, potions and lotions from a distant pharmacy. (ANI)