The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as other health experts have asked people to stop using a drug called Ivermectin to treat COVID-19. 

Ivermectin is a livestock drug usually used to deworm animals and as a treatment for internal and external parasites. 

"You are not a horse. You are not a cow," a tweet posted by the FDA reads. The tweet ends with it telling people to stop using Ivermectin.

FDA Asks People to Stop Using Ivermectin as COVID-19 Treatment

The FDA has spoken against the use of an animal deworming drug known as Ivermectin to treat COVID-19. 

"The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with Ivermectin intended for horses," a post on the FDA website reads. 

The FDA has already posted an FAQ answering the commonly asked questions about Ivermectin and COVID-19. According to the FAQs posted by the FDA, Ivermectin should not be used to treat or prevent COVID-19. 

The FDA also reiterates that the animal deworming drug has not been given an emergency use authorization as a COVID-19 treatment. 

The FDA's stand against the use of Ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment comes after it was announced in June that Ivermectin has entered trial as a COVID-19 treatment in the U.K. 

What is Ivermectin?

According to Health, Ivermectin is a drug "approved by the FDA to treat people with intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis, two conditions that are caused by parasitic worms." It is also used to treat parasites like head lice and certain skin conditions like rosacea. 

Ivermectin is mainly used as a drug for animals as a treatment of internal and external parasites, according to the FDA. It is also used to prevent heartworm disease in certain animals as well. 

According to Health, the following side effects may occur should one take Ivermectin: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, confusion, skin rash, and liver injury, among others. 

Despite the fact that Ivermectin is not an approved treatment for COVID-19, scientists have experimented with the livestock drug. In 2018, researchers from Kenya used Ivermectin to make human blood poisonous to mosquitoes.

Related Article: 3 Scientists Win Medicine Nobel Prize For Works On Parasitic Disease Treatments

Mississippi Sees Jump in Calls to Poison Control Over Ivermectin

According to NPR, health officials from Mississippi have joined the efforts to stop people from using Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19. 

Per the NPR report, "a jump in the number of calls to poison control prompted an alert Friday from the Mississippi State Department of Health about ingesting the drug Ivermectin."

70% of the recent controls to poison control have been Ivermectin-related. 85% of those calls are by people who ended up experiencing mild side effects. However, at least one ended up in the hospital due to Ivermectin toxicity. 

Also Read: COVID-19 US: 99 Percent of Deaths are Composed of Non-Vaccinated People-Delta Variant More Dominant 

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isabella James