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Comment by leftyted | Hacker News Reader

Sounds like the government is correctly rationing tests.

My sense is that the vast majority of the healthy population shouldn't get tested even if they might have the virus because the infrastructure doesn't support widespread testing (anywhere -- as far as I know). They should act as if they have the virus and stay home, rest, drink a lot of water, and take NSAIDs if the pain gets out of hand.

I've been sick since last week (much improved yesterday and today) and it could definitely be covid-19. But there's no point in trying to get tested. If I felt the symptoms were serious (significant difficulty breathing) then I'd go to an ER or call 911.

Also, 37.5 is a fairly low fever.

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Note, France is warning against NSAIDs specifically for COVID-19.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/14/anti-inflammat...

In the Guardian article in the parent comment, the warning says that any anti-inflammatory drug may be a risk, not just NSAIDs. They include cortisone as an example of a drug to avoid, which is a non-NSAID anti-inflammatory.

Wouldn't that just leave steroids, which is generally never good idea to give when you have an infection as far as I know.

I think it's generally the case that taking pain killers isn't a fantastic idea when you have an infection. Of course, for mild infections there's little consequence, but in this case it might be best to avoid them. Just wrap up warm and stay hydrated.

current advice is: DON'T take NSAIDs (e.g. ibuprofen), which may cause complications due to interaction with immune system.

do take paracetamol

aka Tylenol (acetaminophen) in the USA. Consult your doctor. Not sure what this means for children, but this directive against NSAIDs is a really important development in treatment protocols for COVID-19.

Tylenol / acetaminophen is not an NSAID.

Grandparent was saying that paracetamol is a synonym for Tylenlol/acetaminophen

Paracetamol is the same compound as Acetaminophen, and is sold under the Tylenol brand in the US.

This is incorrect. Paracetamol, Tylenol etc are brand names for acetaminophen which is not NSAID. Ibuprofen, Naproxen, Aspirin are NSAIDs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonsteroidal_anti-inflammatory...

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