Calls are coming into Alberta’s poison hotline from people who’ve became sick after mis-using the ivermectin drug as a treatment for COVID.
Dr. Mark Yarema, medical director of the AHS Poison and Drug Information Service (PADIS), tweeted several descriptions of such calls to the hotline this week.
Yarema posted on Twitter that among the illnesses that people have been experiencing are: upset stomach, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and blurred vision.
Health experts have cautioned the public against believing the misinformation that’s being spread on social media about ivermectin being any kind of treatment, or even a prevention, for COVID-19.
In fact, the drug is only proven to work against parasites — not viruses.
Ivermectin has been used in veterinary medicine, predominantly to de-worm horses and cows.
At least one local store has had to post a notice to customers on its entryways stating that its ivermectin products are for livestock, not human use.