In SC, some push ivermectin as a COVID-19 cure. Here’s why doctors say that’s dangerous – The Bakersfield Californian

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. On Monday, Leaders of the Horry County Republican Party gathered in the multipurpose room at the Base Recreation Center in Myrtle Beach for one of the local GOPs monthly meetings.

The party has found itself embroiled in a number of issues this year, but party leaders had gathered to discuss a different topic: Treatments for COVID-19.

But rather than encourage party members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, wear a face covering or avoid large gatherings all measures health experts say help prevent the spread of the deadly virus the party leaders said they wanted to discuss less-accepted treatment methods, including the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin.

Ivermectin...the medicine that can end the pandemic, said a video party leaders played.

The medicine has brought relief and saved the lives of millions across the globe for nearly 40 years, the narrator of the video continued. It has eradicated pandemics of numerous diseases for four decades.

But local doctors say theres a problem with the party and others in Horry County encouraging people to use ivermectin and home remedies to prevent or treat COVID-19.

They dont work.

Or worse, the doctors said, those treatments could be harmful.

The drug hasnt been cleared for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the most extreme red flag for Conway Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Paul Richardson. Hes heard the theories about ivermectin for preventing and treating COVID-19, and hes particularly worried about the recommended dose of ivermectin thats circulating online and in conservative circles.

I think the potential for overdose is there, absolutely, Richardson said, adding that he hasnt heard of any cases of ivermectin overdose at Conway Medical Center or across Horry County.

A certain dose of ivermectin can be used as an anti-parasitic medication in humans, and a different dose is recommended as a dewormer in animals, Richardson said. Taking large doses meant for animals is especially dangerous and can lead to serious side effects including vomiting, low blood pressure, seizures and more, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

In the most severe cases, an ivermectin overdose can lead to death, according to DHEC.

Local GOP leaders even pushed having ivermectin on hand in an attempt to prevent or treat COVID-19, a drug that hasnt been cleared by any major reputable medical agency to do so.

Im a physician, and I dont have ivermectin in my medicine cabinet, Richardson said. That, to me, is something I dont think they should be (doing).

In the Horry County Coroners Office, at least one ivermectin overdose has been reported, Coroner Robert Edge told The Sun News. The exact number of overdose deaths is unclear.

I know weve had some people who have tried to treat themselves, Edge said. And one was with ivermectin, which I always thought was the dewormer for animals. Im not saying its not a good way to go, but its not really sanctioned by DHEC or the CDC or anybody like that.

Edge added people are likely getting their information on ivermectin from the internet, TV and other unreliable sources, and urged people to pay attention to the medical agencies responding to the pandemic.

Ivermectin was first discovered in the 1970s and was made available for use in animals in the early 1980s. Doctors and researchers quickly found that the drug excelled at ridding animals bodies of parasites, and its use spread around the world. By the late 1980s, researchers and health officials began testing if the drug could rid humans of parasites, too, and found that it could. A 2005 medical paper called it a wonder drug for treating parasitic infections.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe in 2020, researchers began testing whether or not the drug could inhibit the spread of the virus in the human body. Some studies have suggested the drug may be useful for that purpose, though a medical consensus has emerged that ivermectin is not an appropriate treatment for COVID-19.

The FDA issued a message earlier this month advising that the agency had not approved ivermectin to treat COVID-19, that studies examining its effect on the coronavirus were ongoing and that humans consuming animal-grade doses of ivermectin could be dangerous.

Theres a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that its okay to take large doses of ivermectin. It is not okay, the FDA wrote in its message. Such high doses can be highly toxic in humans.

At Mondays GOP meeting, party leader Tracy Beanz Diaz interviewed a North Carolina nurse about the benefits of ivermectin and other preventions and treatments for COVID-19. The nurse, Sarah Absher, said she formerly worked as an oncology nurse but left her job earlier this year because she felt that hospital staff were lying to pregnant women and telling them that the COVID-19 vaccine was safe. The FDA has said the vaccine is indeed safe for people older than 12 years of age, including pregnant women.

But Absher said she quit her job and now works for a doctor in Texas performing telehealth appointments and working to give ivermectin to patients who want it. She said shes been surprised that some health professionals have tried to stop doctors from prescribing the drug for COVID-19 patients. She suggested that health experts are working together to prevent doctors from prescribing an important medication.

I think a lot of doctors and nurses know exactly whats going on...they are being threatened, yall, they are being threatened, she told party members. We had in the case I was just on, we had an infectious disease doctor that was willing to do ivermectin, he wrote the order in the chart, and then he called back and said the administrator said no.

Party members gasped after she told the story. Diaz said the hospital administrator had overstepped.

Nasal spray and mouthwash treatments?

Absher and Diaz, though, promoted other treatments for COVID-19 aside from ivermectin. Diaz said that she and her family members do a daily nasal-spray-and-mouthwash-gargle to coat their nasal passages and throats with enough substances to prevent COVID-19 particles from infecting them.

Diaz told party members that her young son had tested positive for COVID-19, and that she believed the at-home treatments, plus ivermectin, helped keep other relatives safe.

Doing that...along with a prophylactic post-exposure dose of ivermectin on day one of my sons symptomatic infection and 48 hours later prevented me and my entire family...from contracting COVID-19 from my son, Diaz said. We were all doing the nasal spray, we were all doing the gargle.

Diaz added: We were kind of able to keep it at bay. Now I dont know what that was from, if it was just dumb luck, if it was because of what we had been doing, or if it was because of the ivermectin, Im not sure.

Absher and Diaz on Monday told party members that they should stock various vitamins and other over-the-counter supplements, like vitamin D3 and zinc, to help prevent COVID-19.

Doctors, though, questioned those methods. Richardson, of Conway Medical Center, said nasal spray, while effective for other ailments, isnt used to treat COVID-19 in hospitals.

Ive never heard of any kind of nasal spray, for COVID-19 for sure, he told The Sun News.

Similarly, Richardson said theres not a mouthwash or gargling technique proven to prevent or treat the coronavirus.

I am not aware of mouthwash, gargle, anything of that nature, Richardson said. Much less approved or (given Emergency Use Authorization) for COVID-19.

Richardson stressed the importance of vaccinations in the fight against COVID-19, urging people to get the shot to avoid being infected with the virus in the first place instead of trying to treat the illness with home remedies that havent been proven to help or approved by the appropriate agencies.

Why the party promoted ivermectin

Still, party leaders said they felt it was important to share information about alternative treatments to COVID-19, outside of the vaccines, masks and social distancing that health experts say are the best ways to prevent getting sick.

In an interview with The Sun News, Horry GOP Chairman Roger Slagle said the local party chose to host Absher and discuss alternative treatment options for COVID-19 because he and other party leaders felt that information wasnt as widely available as information about vaccines.

But, Slagle said, the party leaders advised their members to discuss any treatments, including ivermectin, with a doctor before trying them.

We feel compelled to share both sides of the story, and Id say our big motivation was we are concerned about our members and we want them to have all the information to make decisions, Slagle said, adding, Its a very important caveat that we stressed many many times: Talk to a medical professional, talk to a doctor.

Slagle argued that information about the COVID-19 vaccine and other accepted forms of treatment are widely available and that the local party, based on its own research, felt it was necessary to inform members of other options.

(Health institutions) are not even sharing any of this data and what we want is for our members to learn, Slagle said. And then have a conversation with their physician.

(c)2021 The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)

Visit The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) at http://www.thesunnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

2021 The Charlotte Observer. Visit at charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Go here to see the original:

In SC, some push ivermectin as a COVID-19 cure. Here's why doctors say that's dangerous - The Bakersfield Californian