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Ómicron does not give up. It is expected that in the coming weeks more than half of Europeans will be infected with coronavirus due to the expansion of this variant. This was stated last Tuesday, January 11, at a press conference by the regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe, Hans Kugle. In fact, the old continent registered during the first week of the year site million new cases of Covid-19 caused by this new version of the virus, which was first reported in South Africa.
The new coronavirus disease appears to be milder. Although cases are increasing at an astonishing rate, admissions and deaths are not at the same rate.
Its most common symptoms are very similar to those of a common cold or the flu: headache and sore throat, runny nose, and fever.
Normally, to treat these symptoms, we use pain relievers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. And what is better to calm the problems derived by the variant Omicron of the coronavirus?
Differences between paracetamol and ibuprofen
As explained by Kern Pharma, both the ibuprofen As the paracetamol are medicines analgesics, that is, they are drugs that act on the central and peripheral nervous systems to reduce or eliminate pain of various kinds.
Ibuprofen is a molecule that belongs to the group of NSAIDs or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, not derived from cortisone. This group of drugs is characterized because it focuses its action on the inhibition of the synthesis of postaglandins, substances responsible for the inflammatory answer and the pain. For this reason, ibuprofen is used primarily as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. Its dual effect makes it one of the most common medications to treat any pain that is accompanied by inflammation, such as menstrual, muscle or toothache pain, among others.
Paracetamol, for its part, also works to calm pain, but does not have anti-inflammatory action, since it is analgesic and antipyretic. It is usually used to treat injuries or diseases that are not accompanied by inflammation, such as flu symptoms, headache or fever.
What Doctors Recommend Versus Omicron
The magazine ‘Business Insider’ collects a series of statements made by experts from the Mayo Clinic, one of the most prestigious in the United States.
Most of them assure that in cases in which a feverish symptomatological picture is present you can opt for both ibuprofen and paracetamolas “there is no evidence to suggest that ibuprofen or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should be avoided.” However, other members of the scientific community point out that it may be more effective in fight omicron symptoms paracetamol, as it is more antipyretic, that is to say, that its chemical composition is destined to control fever. In addition, this medicine has fewer side effects (Ibuprofen has a potentially gastro-injurious effect).
Paracetamol is the most typically prescribed medication to treat most common symptoms in viral processes and present in the effects of Ómicron in the body.
However, the prescribed medicine will depend mainly on the doctor and the specific case of the patient, so, if in doubt, it is best to consult a specialist.
Recommended amounts
Doctors recommend taking acetaminophen when we experience “feverish states and in the discomfort that accompanies colds and flu.”
The safe dose should not exceed four grams a day, to avoid any serious liver damage, with a presentation of 450 or 500 milligrams every eight hours. The drug takes 45 minutes to an hour to work.
If the doctor prescribes ibuprofen, doses of between 400 and 600 milligrams are generally used every eight hours, and not exceed 1,200 milligrams in 24 hours, since the chances of suffering damage to the gastric mucosa are greater, according to the pharmacist and president of the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Society of Clinical, Family and Community Pharmacy (SEFAC), Nose Caelles.
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