Taking the drug ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19 could land people in the hospital, a new study warns.
COVID Medication: An Increase in Calls to Poison Control Centers Across the US
Interest in the drug spiked last summer when the highly contagious Delta variant took over the United States. But instead of protecting against the virus, the use of a drug normally reserved for horses and cattle has led to an increase in calls to poison control centers across the country.
In response, the US Food and Drug Administration. He cautioned against using the drug, emphasizing that no form of ivermectin has been approved to treat or prevent COVID-19.
“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Enough, ”the FDA tweeted in August.
The danger of side effects
In the latest report on the drug for COVID that is not specifically made to treat this disease; ivermectin. The researchers said that dangerous side effects of taking ivermectin can include; confusion, loss of control over body movements (“ataxia”). As well as weakness, low blood pressure, seizures, gastrointestinal upset, dizziness, vision symptoms, or a rash.
Side effects can be triggered by taking too much of the drug or by interacting with other medications, they noted.
“It is very easy to manage too much. Most of the people who develop symptoms probably took too much. But we had several people who took it for days and weeks and then developed toxicity. ” So said lead researcher Dr. Robert Hendrickson. He is associate medical director of the Oregon Poison Center and professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.
“It is an unusual drug in the sense that it has many interactions, so even if you are taking the normal dose prescribed for other disorders you can get sick from interactions with other drugs,” he explained. “Usually this is a drug that we are quite careful with.”
Ivermectin can accumulate in the brain
Hendrickson explained that ivermectin can accumulate in the brain. “That’s where most of the toxicity is – you lose your balance, you get confused and feel weak, that’s where most of the interactions are,” he said.
Hendrickson noted that there is no treatment for the side effects of ivermectin. “It’s just a matter of waiting and supportive care,” he said.
Since August, reports of serious side effects from ivermectin have continued, although not as many, Hendrickson said.
There is no clinical use for prescribing ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19.
Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said: “Simply put, there is no clinical use for prescribing ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19. It is irresponsible and downright dangerous for health professionals to even consider prescribing ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. “
Although the drug can inhibit replication of the virus in a test tube, according to various studies and reviews, it has no real clinical value in treating people with COVID-19, he said.
“The only indication to prescribe ivermectin is to treat a parasitic intestinal infection known as strongyloidiasis [lombriz intestinal]. It can also be used for onchocerciasis [ceguera de los ríos] or as a topical treatment for head lice [piojos] and rosacea. In general, he had value in treating parasites in pets and livestock, ”Glatter said.
Misinformation related to ivermectin has the potential to cause serious medical complications that could be life-threatening, he warned.
“It is vital that the public consult with official and trusted medical sources, such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the US National Institutes of Health, for validated and safe approaches to the treatment of COVID-19, ”emphasized Glatter.
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