In a viral Instagram reel posted by @behind_of_truth.ing, Acharya Manish, an ayurvedic expert and influencer, claims that commonly used fever medications like paracetamol, Dolo, Calpol, and Brufen are harmful.
The video, which has garnered about 10 lakh likes and about 3 crore views, features him making statements such as, "If you have fever, never take medicine" and “The worst pill in the world is paracetamol.”
He further asserts that research conducted in 40 countries has labelled paracetamol as the “most harmful pill” and warns that consuming it can lead to kidney failure and liver damage.
Instead, Acharya Manish advises a natural remedy for managing fever: “Take a large bucket of warm water (40–42°C), submerge your feet up to the knees, and sit for 30–40 minutes while sipping warm water.” According to him, this practice can resolve fever in a single session, claiming it has an “80–90 per cent chance” of success.
Fever is one of the most common ailments that people face, where body temperature rises temporarily often in response to an illness or infection. It plays a crucial role in the body's defense mechanism by helping to fight off infections, and hence it is important to ascertain the facts related to these claims.
CLAIM #1:
Taking paracetamol or other fever-relief medicines can cause kidney and liver damage.
FACT:
Misleading. Paracetamol is safe for healthy adults when taken in doses of up to 4g per day for short-term use. Any risks are only associated with overdoses, and injudicious long term use.
This study suggests that Paracetamol very rarely has adverse effects in healthy adults who take ≤4 g/day in episodic use and as directed by the label, but it notes, "..doses exceeding the recommended daily maximum may be harmful due to the accumulation of a toxic metabolite, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinoneimine (NAPQI), that can cause liver failure."
Usually, paracetamol gets metabolised in the liver as N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), a nitrogenous compound, which in turn gets eliminated in urine. But in case of an overdose, the NAPQI is not excreted in urine and thereby leads to hepatotoxicity (liver damage) and could result in liver failure.
This study suggests that prolonged use, even in lower doses, could potentially harm liver cells by damaging the connections between adjacent liver cells, called tight junctions. It says, "..acetaminophen, even at low-dose, disrupts the integrity of TJ and cell-matrix adhesions, with indicators of cellular stress with liver injury in the human hepatic HepaRG cell line, and primary hepatocytes."
"It’s prudent to take the medication only on doctor’s advice. Long-term paracetamol consumption could be injurious to health," First Check has found in an earlier fact check.
"Clinically relevant acute kidney injury due to paracetamol overdose alone is extremely rare in the absence of concomitant liver injury when excluding other prerenal, renal, and postrenal causes of renal dysfunction, NAC interference and chronic kidney injury," this study concludes.
Put simply, any acute kidney injury from a paracetamol overdose is very rare unless it occurs alongside liver damage, and other potential causes of kidney problems are ruled out.
Paracetamol is safe for healthy adults when taken in doses of up to 4g per day for short-term use. Some studies suggest that even lower doses could harm liver cells by damaging the connections between adjacent liver cells, there is sufficient scientific evidence to confirms that only long-term use of paracetamol can damage the liver.
Thus, Paracetamol can also be used to treat fever. But an over dose can be dangerous.
CLAIM #2:
Submerging your feet in warm water is an effective remedy for fever.
FACT:
Hot Water Foot Immersion Therapy may be effectively used as an intervention to reduce the body temperature in patients with fever, along with the standard fever treatment.
The therapy suggested in the video is called "Hot Water Foot Immersion Therapy" (HWFIT) which involves soaking the feet in warm water, which helps improve blood circulation, release heat through sweating, and supply oxygen to the brain. This study examined 60 patients with fever to test the effectiveness of Hot Water Foot Immersion Therapy in treating fever. "..there was significant difference in reduction of temperature after application of hot water foot immersion therapy," the study finds.
However, it is effective along with the standard fever treatment.
This story is done in collaboration with First Check, which is the health journalism vertical of DataLEADS.
