The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned people to avoid taking veterinary medicines to treat COVID-19 infection.
According to the federal agency, multiple cases have been reported in the hospitals where patients tried to self-medicate with the ivermectin drug to cure the infection.
Along with a detailed consumer update on the harms of using Ivermectin for treating Covid-19, FDA tweeted, "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it."
What is Ivermectin?
Ivermectin is a veterinary drug used to treat or prevent parasite attacks in large animals.
According to the shared article by FDA, drugs like Ivermectin are usually highly concentrated and are to treat animals like horses and cows. Such medicines can be highly toxic to the human body.
The overdose of ivermectin can lead to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, allergic reactions, dizziness, problems with balance, seizures, coma, and sometimes death, FDA said.
However, certain clarifications by the agency claimed that the FDA-approved ivermectin can be used to treat humans in certain conditions of parasitic worms attack, such as intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis, and to treat external parasites like head lice and for skin conditions such as rosacea. The agency also clarified that the formulations and doses of drugs used on humans in such conditions are different from the drugs used on animals.
"In some cases, we don't know how those inactive ingredients will affect how ivermectin is absorbed in the human body," the FDA notified.
It warned against the unapproved use of ivermectin as it can lead to severe health complications. Ivermectin is not an anti-viral drug. The FDA confirmed that the said drug has not been approved by the agency for treating or preventing COVID-19 in humans, however, some initial research was ongoing.
Due to a lot of misinformation surrounding ivermectin, the agency was forced to issue a warning to stop people from taking such dangerous self-medicating steps to cure disease, it said. It also urged people to continue to wear masks, maintain social distancing, avoid crowds, wash hands frequently and follow the covid guidelines issued by the health authorities.
