Don’t let fake news make Covid-19 worse

By Eamonn Brady, pharmacist and owner of Whelehans Pharmacy, Pearse Street and Clonmore, Mullingar. If you have health questions, email them to info@whelehans.ie

Advice about Covid-19 and Ibuprofen

Most of us have seen the fake news going around (mainly WhatsApp) regarding the coronavirus Covid-19.

Responding to the French Health Minister’s Claims

French Health Minister, Olivier Véran, tweeted on Saturday March 15 that “taking anti-inflammatories could be a factor in aggravating Covid-19 infection”.

Mr Véran’s general rationale was that ibuprofen weakens the immune system; however, he has not given any proof of this in the case of short-term use of Ibuprofen for any condition including Covid-19 symptoms.

The HSE explain, “this is based on French analysis and is not in line with the analysis and recommendations of the HSE and other EU countries”.

Keep taking your medication as prescribed

In Ireland, the HSE and health authorities advise anyone with Covid-19 to continue to take any medication they were already taking, unless they are told not to by a healthcare professional.

This includes anti-inflammatories (NSAID) such as ibuprofen, naproxen or diclofenac.

No scientific evidence that ibuprofen makes Covid-19 worse

Currently there is no published scientific evidence that ibuprofen increases Covid-19 risk or makes symptoms worse. While it is long known that asthmatics must take care in taking anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen (it increases the risk of asthma attacks in a small percentage of asthmatics), there is also no conclusive evidence that taking ibuprofen is harmful for other respiratory infections including Covid-19.

Health authorities came out indicating that people should not be worried about taking ibuprofen with PHE summarising the advice as: “Most people with Covid-19 will have a mild illness and some people may need to take medicines, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, to help with raised temperature, headache and other pains; always follow the instructions on the label if you do take these medicines and do not exceed the stated dose.”

What our pharmacist advises

As a pharmacist, I would advise to use paracetamol initially to relieve symptoms caused by infection such as fever then you can use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) such as ibuprofen if paracetamol is not relieving symptoms sufficiently on its own.

Only take one anti-inflammatory medication at a time. It is safe to take paracetamol and an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen at the same time.

Paracetamol generally has fewer side effects than NSAIDs; side effects of anti-inflammatories when taken for any length of time can include like indigestion, stomach ulcers, allergic reactions and in rare cases problems with your liver or kidneys.

However, for someone, with a very high fever and flu like aches and pains, NSAIDs can give additional relief if paracetamol alone is not enough.

Many people take anti-inflammatories longer term for conditions like arthritis and other inflammatory conditions and people should not stop these without consulting with their doctor. Like all medicines, Ibuprofen should be taken with care and should be used in caution with certain conditions (e.g. Ibuprofen should be used in caution in people with blood pressure, heart problems, stomach ulcers, kidney problems), but as with all medicines consult with qualified health professional like your GP or pharmacist to see what medicines are safe for you .