COVID-19: Confused Note from French Government on NSAID-SAID in Ibuprofen Ban

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After some medical research:

Ibuprofen blocks inflammation, which is an immune response.  Immune responses aid in fighting disease.  The other factor is that inflammation also causes Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, the swelling that stops breathing and kills people.

We have a chicken and egg issue here.

In this article, France confuses steroids with non-steroidal anti-inflammatories.  The ignorance of this is unimaginable.



Steroids, long ago, were found to be dangerous during viral infections.  They are great for inflammation but make both viral and bacterial infections worse.

The French don’t recognize this or failed to address it and fail to supply any support for their ban on Ibuprofen.  It is the ‘go-to’ treatment in the US for children and adults for pain and inflammation due to viral infections but France just banned it for COVID, saying it makes things worse.

We aren’t sure we believe them as their information came with serious flaws.

The use of the term “paracetamol” which typically describes a blend of Tylenol and opiates, typically Oxycodone or Hydrocodone, refers to medications unavailable in much of the world and dangerous to those at risk of liver damage.

Thus far, no one in the US can think of any medical reason for the French statement but VT never advises the use of Acetaminophen because an overdose will absolutely kill you dead as a doornail.


France Warns Against Use of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs to Tackle Coronavirus

By 

PARIS — France’s health minister on Saturday said people should not use anti-inflammatory drugs if they have coronavirus-like symptoms because it could worsen their condition.

“Taking anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, cortisone …) could be an aggravating factor for the infection. If you have a fever, take paracetamol,” Oliver Veran said on Twitter.

President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday school closures and urged people to avoid close contact for fear of propagating the virus that has killed 79 people in France and infected more than 3,600.

Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Catherine Evans

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5 COMMENTS

  1. Mr. Duff,

    —Thank you so much, for the info. Even though, I do NOT have a CV so far since I am home bound, it turns out I am finding “Helpful Info from you & Mrs. Duff for my Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). I used to take Advil I stop since the CV.

    —My doctor gave me 1-shot of Steroid when I could not walk the 1st time. Then he treated me with Prednisone that was supposed to work for ONLY 1-year, and needed to be stopped gradually according to Mayo Clinic. I used to take Advil

  2. It is true that acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) is dangerous in patient’s with liver disease… IF they take more than the prescribed amount. You can overdose on ANY medication and likely die from the adverse effects. In the case of ibuprofen (or any of the NSAIDs), it has been well documented to increase your risk of stomach upset, gastric ulcers, gastric bleeding, and kidney failure, to name a few (and in case anyone was wondering, some of those can be life threatening). For you to not mention the adverse effects of taking excess ibuprofen and subsequently denounce the use of acetaminophen in a very specific population of people with liver disease, is flawed and potentially dangerous for anyone who reads your article. To try to make the connection that ibuprofen/NSAIDs are safe because they have been the “go to” medications by many people is just wrong. Each medication comes with their own benefits (in a subset of people), but also potential (adverse) side effects. To know specifically when to use what drug should be left to those in the health field (ala Health Minister) and not the lay person. But if you plan to comment on such a trendy topic, please make sure you present all the information. FYI, all this information can be easily accessed by anyone with access to the internet.

  3. I’m sorry, but as a physician myself, I must respectfully disagree with your article as a whole. The message by the French Health Minister (who apparently is also a doctor and lawyer) is on point in regards to both steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories as being dangerous in people with COVID-19.

    You already touched upon why steroids are dangerous for viruses, but what you don’t seem to understand (or care to look up yourself as a SENIOR EDITOR prior to writing your article), is that there is a very specific reason for the Health Minister’s message: it is that ibuprofen (an NSAID) has been linked to increased ACE-2 expression (article from the Lancet: https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanres/PIIS2213-2600(20)30116-8.pdf). What is ACE-2, you ask? ACE-2 is a receptor that has been recently shown in research to be the entry point of SARS-CoV2, the virus responsible for causing COVID-19 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867420302294). One can easily deduce that taking a medication (ibuprofen) which can increase expression of THE receptor that the coronavirus uses to enter your cells is a BAD thing.

  4. “The use of the term “paracetamol” which typically describes a blend of tylenol and opiates, typically Oxycodone or Hydrocodone, refers to medications unavailable in much of the world and dangerous to those at risk of liver damage.” This statement is not accurate. Paracetamol is acetaminophen.

    In the US, some prescription drugs (Vicodin, Norco, other brand names) do combine acetaminophen with opioids (e.g., hydrocodone, oxycodone). The combination drugs pack a lot of acetaminophen with, in my professional opinion (Pharmacology), subtherapeutic amounts of opioids. One can certainly expect liver damage to occur before developing opioid dependence!

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