diff --git a/help.php b/help.php
index 1701b5c03d9..1c00903f569 100644
--- a/help.php
+++ b/help.php
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@
 
     require_once('config.php');
 
-    optional_variable($file, '');
-    optional_variable($text, 'No text to display');
-    optional_variable($module, 'moodle');
+    $file   = optional_param('file', '', PARAM_FILE);
+    $text   = optional_param('text', 'No text to display', PARAM_CLEAN);
+    $module = optional_param('module', 'moodle', PARAM_ALPHAEXT);
 
     print_header();
 
@@ -113,9 +113,7 @@
             }
         }
     } else {
-        echo '<p>';
-        echo clean_text($text);
-        echo '</p>';
+        echo '<p>'.s($text).'</p>';   // This param was already cleaned
         $helpfound = true;
     }