The European Medicines Agency (EMA) wrote in an opinion on Wednesday that there is no scientific evidence for a link between serious complaints from COVID-19 patients and taking ibuprofen. This advice follows rumors that also circulated on social media in the Netherlands.
According to various rumors on social media and one Twitter post of the French Minister of Health, ibuprofen is said to cause COVID-19 (the disease causing the coronavirus) to be more serious.
EMA states that there is no evidence for this. Therefore, it is not advised to stop taking ibuprofen.
Earlier, several experts reported that if you are sick with the coronavirus and want to use a pain reliever, it is best to use acetaminophen. They advised this, because paracetamol is less likely to cause side effects. However, there is no evidence that ibuprofen worsens complaints from COVID-19 patients.
EMA is investigating ibuprofen for chicken pox and bacterial infections
The EMA supervises medicines in Europe and is currently investigating ibuprofen due to a French study which found evidence that ibuprofen may worsen the symptoms of chickenpox and bacterial infections. This investigation is ongoing and no results have yet been published. There is currently no EMA investigation into COVID-19 and ibuprofen, but the agency reports it wants to support the investigation.
EMA also writes that in most cases it is advised to use paracetamol first. Only if this does not work is it recommended to use ibuprofen. Users of ibuprofen are advised to take the lowest effective dose and use it as short as possible. This is not because of the coronavirus, but because of known side effects. People who now use ibuprofen on the advice of a doctor should not just stop using this, according to the EMA.
CBG: Prefer to use acetaminophen
The Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board (CBG) also prefers paracetamol because of the side effects of ibuprofen.
Ibuprofen can lead to stomach problems, among other things. People over the age of seventy who have ever had a stomach or duodenal ulcer or take blood thinners are always advised to talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using ibuprofen.
Paracetamol has fewer side effects, but also with paracetamol it is better not to use it for too long.
Fake news about ibuprofen and the coronavirus
There is also a lot of fake news about ibuprofen going around right now. For example, a neurologist at Treant Zorggroep would have warned about ibuprofen. According to the care organization, this message was fake and did not come from a neurologist at Treant.
Also, the claim that research from the University of Vienna had shown that the coronavirus multiplies faster through the use of ibuprofen turned out to be fake news. The educational institution told fact checker, among other things Politico that the university is not investigating this at all.
Follow the latest developments around the virus in our live blog.
The coronavirus in short
- The coronavirus mainly spreads through sneezes and cough drops. The virus can be transmitted directly from person to person or (for a limited time) through surfaces such as door handles.
- An infected person infects two to three others on average. Precautions are necessary to contain this.
- The vast majority of patients have mild (flu-like) complaints.
- Nearly all deaths involve the elderly or other frail, such as heart, lung or diabetes patients. If everyone complies with the measures, this reduces their risks.
- Read here what precautions you should take.
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