--- title: "WHO Recommends Avoiding Ibuprofen to Treat COVID-19 Symptoms" description: "On Tuesday, the World Health Organization officially started recommending against taking ibuprofen to treat symptoms of COVID-19." date: "2020-03-18" modified: "2020-03-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/who-recommends-ibuprofen-treat-covid-19-symptoms" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "ibuprofen" - "WHO" --- # WHO Recommends Avoiding Ibuprofen to Treat COVID-19 Symptoms ![On Tuesday, the World Health Organization officially started recommending against taking ibuprofen to treat symptoms of COVID-19.]() *\Image: D Coetzee/Victor Tangermann\* This weekend, a report by the French Ministry of Health [claimed]() that the use of ibuprofen — the active ingredient in Advil and other anti-inflammatory drugs — could worsen the symptoms of COVID-19, the deadly disease caused by coronavirus sweeping the entire globe right now. In light of [a letter]() published in the journal *The Lancet* advising against the use of ibuprofen, France's health minister Olivier Veran tweeted on Saturday that "in case of fever, take paracetamol \[commonly known as Tylenol\] If you are already taking anti-inflammatory drugs, ask your doctor’s advice." On Tuesday, the World Health Organization followed suit and is officially recommending against taking ibuprofen to treat symptoms of COVID-19 — at least until further notice. WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters that experts were "looking into this to give further guidance," as [quoted by *Science Alert*](). "In the meantime, we recommend using rather paracetamol, and do not use ibuprofen as a self-medication," Lindmeier said. "That's important." Before the WHO's recommendation, Reckitt Benckiser (RB), producer of the popular ibuprofen drug Nurofen, said that there still was no evidence to support forgoing the over-the-counter drug (and it's also worth noting that RB has an interest in promoting its own product). "Appropriate use of ibuprofen and paracetamol is still currently being recommended by most European health authorities as part of the symptomatic treatment of COVID-19," the company wrote in [a statement](). "RB is not aware of any evidence that ibuprofen adversely impacts the outcome in patients suffering from COVID-19 infection." "We do not currently believe there is any proven scientific evidence linking over-the-counter use of ibuprofen to the aggravation of COVID-19," the statement read. Other experts agree the speculation is baseless — at least for now. "It’s all anecdote, and fake news off the anecdotes," Garret FitzGerald, chair of the department of pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania [told *The New York Times*](), also before the WHO's recommendation. "That’s the world we are living in." ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()