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A week ago, French Health Minister Olivier Véran warned that taking ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory drugs could worsen Covid-19 infection. In his Twitter account (which now seems to have become the official way of transmitting messages from those above), he indicated: "Taking anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, cortisone ...) could be a factor in the worsening of the infection " For this reason, the minister recommended that those with fever take paracetamol.

Minutes later, madness broke out in our country. And it is that in Spain we are already getting used to having many things taken from us. We can live without failures or even without Easter. But Saint Ibuprofen is sacred . Who does not have a box at home?

Luckily for the collective hysteria, the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) reacted quickly by issuing an explanatory note: "Unless otherwise indicated by your health professional, for the moment there is no reason for anyone to dispense with their ibuprofen ." However, from the AEMPS they also point out that the guidelines recommend the use of paracetamol for the symptomatic treatment of fever as the first alternative.

The summary would be: you can take ibuprofen if in era a. C. ( before Covid-19 ) you already did. But if you are positive or suspect that you may be, preferably use paracetamol . I take this opportunity to send a notice to boaters: the ibuprofen that can be dispensed in pharmacies "without a prescription" is 400 mg. With less dose equally effective for classic ailments and side effects are minimized.

Where does the alarm come from?

It is true that, at the request of the French Medicines Agency (ASNM), the exacerbation of infections with ibuprofen (and with other anti-inflammatory drugs such as ketoprofen) is being evaluated for the entire European Union in the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee. This is not something new and they have been working on it for some time. In principle, the analysis would end in May 2020 and then we may have more data. But until the time comes, with the information we have today, it is complex to determine if there is an association between taking ibuprofen and worsening symptoms . Why? Because ibuprofen is used to treat the initial symptoms of infections and the cause-effect relationship is not easy to establish.

On the other hand, as indicated in the note from the AEMPS, the technical specifications of the medicines that contain ibuprofen already indicate that this medicine can mask the symptoms of infections, which could delay their diagnosis and be the cause of their diagnosis. in more flowery stadiums. But be careful! this refers to all infections in general , not specifically to Covid-19 infection.

What do other international organizations say?

On Tuesday, March 17, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier explained to journalists in Geneva that experts from the UN health agency were "investigating this matter to provide further guidance." On what to do until more information is available, he indicated: "In the meantime, we recommend using paracetamol, and not self-medicating with ibuprofen. That is important." He also added that if ibuprofen had been "prescribed by health professionals, then, of course, that depends on them."

Later, on Wednesday, the WHO published a tweet from its official account stating, literally: "According to the currently available information, the WHO does not recommend not using ibuprofen ." I know, you could say it a little more clearly but it is what it is. They also clarified that, after consulting with professionals who were treating patients with Covid-19, they were not aware of reports of adverse effects caused by ibuprofen beyond those usually known.

For its part, and along the same lines, the FDA issued a statement on Thursday indicating that, to date, they had no scientific evidence linking the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, with the worsening of Covid-19 symptoms. They also communicated their intention to continue investigating further and publicly communicate the available information in the future.

To translate this a little, since it seems that no one wants to get their fingers too much, the most sensible conclusion again seems to be to use paracetamol in the treatment of Covid-19 (as it had been done by protocol) and that the rest of the Population continue to use it if necessary for their usual indications (headaches, dental, menstrual, muscle, etc.), without alarms, until new data is available.

Do I stop taking my antihypertensive if I have covid-19?

Also, publications have appeared suggesting that treatment with antihypertensive medications of the ACEI and / or AIIRA type could be a serious risk factor for hospitalized patients infected with Covid-19. Given these information, it should be clarified that the AEMPS recommends that they continue with their usual treatment. Currently a modification of the same is not justified.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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