Paris (AFP)
The sale of paracetamol, a drug recommended to combat symptoms due to coronavirus, will be restricted in pharmacies and suspended on the internet from Wednesday, the Medicines Agency (ANSM) announced on Tuesday.
The sale will be limited to one box per person without symptoms or two boxes in case of fever or pain, adds the agency which is concerned about the risks of "unnecessary storage" to the detriment of those who need it.
These measures apply to 500 mg and 1,000 mg cans.
In the event of pain and / or fever, in particular in "the context of COVID-19", the use of paracetamol must be privileged by respecting the rules of good use, reminds the health agency.
"When used wisely, paracetamol is a safe and effective drug," she said.
The French group Sanofi, producer of doliprane, said it had found "effectively an increase in demand for paracetamol".
"We are all responsible and everyone must behave in a rational manner when buying their medicines, limiting themselves to the quantity that we actually need," the group told AFP.
"The pharmacies are open, there is no shortage of these drugs, you have to take what you need and do not go any further," insisted Frédéric Collet, president of Leem (The drug companies), calling for user responsibility, while noting that there is no shortage of drugs at this stage.
The health agency also recalls its warning against "anti-inflammatory drugs - including ibuprofen - (which) can mask an infection and potentially have an aggravating effect in certain situations".
However, she recommends that patients treated with anti-inflammatory drugs or corticosteroids not to stop their treatment and not to hesitate to approach their doctor to ask them about the course of action.
In self-medication, the dose of 3 g of paracetamol per day should not be exceeded.
This involves checking for the presence of paracetamol in other medicines used to combat pain, fever, allergies, cold symptoms or flu-like illness so as not to exceed the daily dose.
In the event of an overdose, paracetamol can cause serious liver damage, even irreversible in some cases: the improper use of paracetamol is the first cause of liver transplantation of medicinal origin in France.
The agency therefore recommends, in the absence of a prescription, to take "the lowest dose (500 mg), as short a time as possible" and to "respect the maximum dose per dose", namely one gram. The minimum interval between doses should be 4 to 6 hours minimum and the maximum recommended duration of treatment from three days (in case of fever) to five in case of pain.
© 2020 AFP