A fit and healthy mum-of-two struggling with Covid-19in intensive care told her colleagues, ‘please don’t take any chances’.

Tara Jane Langston, 39, had initially beendiagnosed with a chest infection, before her condition worsened and she wasrushed to Hillingdon Hospital, in west London, where she spent last week.

She had been taking around eight ibuprofen tablets a day, which she says medics think could have exacerbated her symptoms. The NHS advises anyone with coronavirus to take paracetamol, but says there is currently ‘no strong evidence’ that ibuprofen will make the infection worse.

While in intensive care, Ms Langston filmed her condition to send to her colleagues on WhatsApp. In the clip, she says: ‘Anyone who is thinking of taking any chances, just take a look at me. I’m in the intensive care unit. I can’t breathe without this.

‘They’ve had to sew that into my artery. I’vegot a cannula, another cannula and a catheter. I’m actually 10 times betterthan what I was before. I’ve lost count of the days.

‘If anyone still smokes, put the cigarettes down because I’m telling you now, you need your f**king lungs and, please, none of you take any chances, I mean it, because if it gets really bad then you’re going to end up here. 

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‘My body is fighting this, so once againdon’t take any chances.’

Ms Langston, who works as a waitress, told MailOnline the virus was like having ‘glass in your lungs’ leaving every breath ‘a battle’.

She continued: ‘When I was taken into intensive care they originally planned to sedate me and keep me in intubation because my body had gone through it all for the best part of a week and I was shattered.

What does the NHS say about coronavirus and ibuprofen?

‘There is currently no strong evidence that ibuprofen can make coronavirus (COVID-19) worse.

‘But until we have more information, take paracetamol to treat the symptoms of coronavirus, unless your doctor has told you paracetamol is not suitable for you.

‘If you are already taking ibuprofen or another non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) on the advice of a doctor, do not stop taking it without checking first.’

‘Fortunately I was kept awake but needed sixlitres of oxygen. Now that I’m improving I’m on one litre.’  

Ms Langston had first become ill after a trip to Krakow, Poland, with her husband Richard and two daughters.

At first, she was told she had a chest infection, before her condition worsened. She was then diagnosed with pneumonia and tested positive for Covid-19, before being rushed to intensive care.

Describing the conditions in the ICU, she saidother patients she saw, in their 50s and 60s, ‘were not elderly people’, addingthat she wanted to issue a warning that ‘younger people are susceptible too’.

She also praised the ‘brilliant’ nurses, who had been ‘covered head-to-toe’ and ‘literally working non-stop’.

Ms Langston said the nurses are already ‘runningout of face masks’ and fears they will be ‘swamped’ if the numbers of coronaviruscases continue to rise.

She is urging people to stay indoors and follow government advice as she begins to recover from her ordeal.

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