By Elisa Song, MD
A possible correlation was noted by Olivier Veran, French Minister for Solidarity & Health, after doctors in France observed that young people presenting with more severe illness may have had NSAID use as a common risk factor. Mr. Veran then went on to recommend paracetamol (which is acetaminophen aka Tylenol) if you have a fever instead. Within 18 hours of posting this on his FB page on March 16, 2020, it has literally gone “viral” (no pun intended), and since then, I’ve been flooded with questions from concerned parents whether or not it’s safe to give their child ibuprofen if they suspect they may be infected with SARS-CoV-2.
On March 17, World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier stated at a Geneva press conference that UN Health Agency experts are “looking into this to give further guidance… In the meantime, we recommend using rather paracetamol, and do not use ibuprofen as self-medication.” Mr. Lindmeier notes, however, that if ibuprofen has been “prescribed by the healthcare professionals, then, of course, that’s up to them.” (more…)