The French Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, recently issued a statement discouraging people infected with the coronavirus from using ibuprofen or aspirin to treat the disease, saying these anti-inflammatory drugs could worsen the illness. After the statement a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson initially said health experts were looking into the claims and that those experiencing symptoms of the disease should take precautions and use acetaminophen instead.

The following day, the WHO retracted that statement in a tweet, saying “based on currently available information, WHO does not recommend against the use of of ibuprofen.”

Family practitioner Dr. Jerry Abraham tells Inside the Issues said scientists are still trying to figure out the damage that the coronavirus is doing to people’s bodies who are seriously ill. 

“However there are some theories, some hypotheses and some items that have been tested [that] perhaps it is affecting some of our arteries and veins in certain ways … so there's some biological plausibility that an NSAID, an anti-inflammatory drug that works on some of these processes in our body, may actually be exacerbating the way COVID-19 creates damage,” he said.

He points out that the Food and Drug Administration has said there is not enough evidence to suggest NSAIDs worsen the disease. 

“I will say, anecdotally, many of my colleagues are choosing to use acetaminophen, right now to help treat people with fevers, and we’re doing everything we can to minimize risks, so right now given that we don’t know the entire situation, we are saying perhaps it’s better to avoid ibuprofen at this time,” he said.

He also advises people who are on blood pressure medicine to continue to take the medications or consult your doctor. 

“If you test positive for COVID-19, if you're sick enough to be in the hospital, then that’s a decision for ... the physicians and nurses in the hospital, to make,” he said. “But right now, keep taking your blood pressure meds, and if possible, use Tylenol or acetaminophen for your fevers is probably the best guess I can give you.”

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