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  • WHO Recommends to Avoid Taking Ibuprofen For COVID-19 Symptom

    WHO Recommends to Avoid Taking Ibuprofen For COVID-19 Symptom File Photo WHO Recommends to Avoid Taking Ibuprofen For COVID-19 Symptom

    The World Health Organization recommended that people suffering COVID-19 symptoms avoid taking ibuprofen, after French officials warned that anti-inflammatory drugs could worsen effects of the virus.

    The warning by French Health Minister Veran followed a recent study in The Lancet medical journal that hypothesised that an enzyme boosted by anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen could facilitate and worsen COVID-19 infections.

    In the meantime, we recommend using rather paracetamol, and do not use ibuprofen as a self-medication, if ibuprofen had been "prescribed by the healthcare professionals, then, of course, that's up to them."

    Christian Lindmeier comments came after Veran sent a tweet cautioning that the use of ibuprofen and similar anti-inflammatory drugs could be "an aggravating factor" in COVID-19 infections.

    "In the case of fever, take paracetamol," he wrote.

    The COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected around 198,000 people worldwide and killed more than 8,000, causes mild symptoms in most people, but can result in pneumonia and in some cases severe illness that can lead to multiple organ failure.

    A spokesperson for British pharmaceutical company Reckitt Benckiser, which makes Nurofen, said in an email statement that the company was aware of concerns raised about "the use of steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) products, including ibuprofen, for the alleviation of COVID-19 symptoms."

    "Consumer safety is our number one priority," the spokesperson said, stressing that "ibuprofen is a well-established medicine that has been used safely as a self-care fever and pain reducer, including in viral illnesses, for more than 30 years."

    Reckitt Benckiser was "engaging with the WHO, EMA (the European Medicines Agency) and other local health authorities" on the issue and would provide "any additional information or guidance necessary for the safe use of our products following any such evaluation."