'Indians take Dolo 650 like it's Cadbury Gems': Dr Pal's take on India’s one-pill-for-all habit goes viral, netizens say 'Disprin too'"

A single tweet by US-based gastroenterologist and stand-up comic Dr Palaniappan Manickam—better known online as Dr Pal—has gone viral and uncomfortable truth about Indians. “Indians take Dolo 650 like it's Cadbury Gems,” he wrote, poking fun at the nation’s almost reflexive reliance on the over-the-counter paracetamol brand.

The tweet struck a chord across the Indian internet, sparking laughter, memes, and reflection in equal measure. Within hours, it had thousands of likes and retweets, with many users confessing they too had reached for a strip of Dolo 650 at the first sign of a fever, ache, or even just a bad day.

Who is Dr Pal?

Born in Madurai and now practising in Sacramento, California, Dr Pal wears two very different hats—one as a trained gastroenterologist, and the other as a rising star in what he calls the "med-com" world: medical comedy. With over a million followers across platforms, he’s carved a niche few doctors have dared to explore, using humour to deliver health advice in a way people actually want to hear.


He first broke out during the pandemic, when a rejected COVID awareness video—“too funny to be serious,” he was told—found a home on YouTube and went viral. Since then, he’s leaned into the blend of jokes and jargon, bringing laughter to topics most would rather avoid, from irritable bowel syndrome to diabetes.

Last year, he took his act live with Fun with Fasting, a comedy show based on his own weight loss journey and the science of intermittent fasting. “If I put up a PowerPoint, the last slide always had a joke,” he once said in an interview. “Patients open up more when they’re laughing.”

A serious message beneath the laughs

Dolo 650, India’s go-to painkiller, became a pandemic household name, often stocked in medicine kits with the same devotion as turmeric and Vicks. But its casual use has also raised concerns among doctors. “It’s not a candy,” Dr Pal later clarified in a follow-up post. “Frequent use can mask symptoms and delay proper diagnosis.”