Drugs like ivermectin are not effective for treating COVID-19 according to experts, and can have dangerous side effects. (ID 215006240 © Hcazenave | Dreamstime.com)

By Rob Mahon

Internet COVID Treatment

Pharmacist, animal nutritionists seeing requests for unproven COVID treatment

Aug 31, 2021 | 4:00 PM

The global pandemic has likely gotten you acquainted with certain medical terms and drugs you might otherwise not have known about. The latest drug making its way into the public eye is called ivermectin, but it’s not always being used as the maker intended.

A growing number of people have been touting the merits of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19. This despite the fact that the drug is an anti-parasitic. It can be prescribed to humans but is also commonly used in horses and cattle.

“(Ivermectin) is mostly for people who have parasite infections,” said local staff pharmacist Maitrik Patel. “They can get prescribed ivermectin. This includes scabies, lice, and other parasites. But this is for very extreme form of resistance scabies and lice.”

Roundworms are also among the parasites ivermectin is used to treat, so it’s not uncommon that it be prescribed to people. It is not, however, tended to fight viral infections like COVID-19.

“I have not come across any studies or evidence that proves that ivermectin is effective against COVID-19,” Patel said. “So, I would definitely not recommend using it. It’s not officially approved to be used as a COVID-19 treatment or prevention measure by Health Canada.”

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Not that this has stopped people from asking about it. According to Patel, he has fielded a lot more requests lately for information about the drug.

“Pharmacists do not have any authority to prescribe ivermectin at this moment, so I haven’t had any requests to prescribe it,” he said. “But definitely, people have phoned me asking for information. My answer is always to say it’s not something that’s been studied thoroughly with COVID-19 and it’s not recommended by Health Canada.”

In some extreme cases, when people can’t get ivermectin from their local pharmacist, they’ve been trying other means of getting it. This includes contacting animal nutrition stores to see if they can get the kind used for horses and cattle.

“I’ve had a few calls,” said Tara Kennedy, owner of Kennedy’s Animal Nutrition Centre in Prince Albert. “They haven’t said that (COVID treatment) is what they’re using it for, but typically the way they’re asking for it leads me to believe that’s what they’re using it for, not for horses and cattle.”

Kennedy does sometimes stock ivermectin, but said she happens to be out of it at the moment. Much like it does for humans, ivermectin helps get rid of parasites in cattle and horses, both internal and external.

“With the horse paste, it’s something that you squirt into their mouth and is an anti-parasitic that helps get rid of all sorts of worms,” Kennedy said.

According to Patel, side effects of the kind of ivermectin used for humans can range from low blood pressure and dizziness to symptoms similar to asthma, and even include damage to the liver. Poison control calls in the United States related to the drug went up dramatically this year, including as much as 550 per cent in Texas, according to USA Today.

The FDA lists even more serious consequences for an overdose of ivermectin on their website. Some of these side effects include seizures, coma, and even death.

“It is a poison,” Kennedy said. “That’s why it has to be regulated on the dosing and everything else. To use it without knowing what that dosing should be and not using it for the intended use (which is for livestock with the stuff we sell), to me is very dangerous.”

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP