A spike in hospitalizations is causing the Food and Drug Administration to warn the public against equine-grade ivermectin — an anti-parasite drug.
“The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses,” the FDA said Friday.
The NIH has not approved the drug to treat coronavirus for humans, nor is it a an anti-viral remedy. The FDA says large doses of ivermectin can cause “serious harm,” and that symptoms of an overdose include comas, seizures, vomiting and diarrhea. It can also be fatal.
CNN reports ivermectin has anti-inflammatory properties and had given indications in lab studies that it can stop COVID-19 from replicating. A double-blind study among 500 adults in Colombia reportedly shortened symptoms by two days according to respondents. It was not deemed a significant breakthrough.
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