Stop Eating My Ivermectin

Last year, when the train-wreck that was Tiger King hit Netflix, I remember being repulsed, but also slightly weirded out.  Not in the same way that everyone else was weirded out by Joe Exotic and his crazy schemes - more weirded out that something that was once a part of the zookeeping world, something that we and really we alone ever talked about, was now in the public domain.  For months afterwards, whenever I heard someone joke about "that bitch Carole Baskin," I'd do a little start and wonder how they'd ever heard of her.

I've been feeling kind of that way this last week or so with ivermectin.

Ivermectin - sometimes sold as Stromectol, Soolantra, Sklice, or other names, is a medication that is used to treat parasites.  It has some approved uses in humans, but is most often though of in terms of veterinary use, especially as a wormer.  If you've been living under a rock for the last month a) congratulations, now do yourself a favor and get back under it while you still can, and b) you may have heard that in some circles... especially certain political circles... Ivermectin is being pushed as a miracle cure for COVID-19.

To be clear, it's not.  At least, the scientific evidence isn't there to support such a claim.  Even if that were the case, however, it would be human ivermectin, sold by a doctor.  Instead, we have people buying over-the-counter ivermectin for animal use, taking it, and, in many cases, having very bad results.  The State of Texas has reported more than a 500% increase in calls of ivermectin poisoning... though I really wonder how many they got in a normal year before this all began.

Ivermectin is a staple of many zoo vets and is used to treat parasitic infections in a wide variety of species, especially in ruminants (other species, such as tortoises, are not recommended for treatment with ivermectin).  Now, I'm not going to pretend that I haven't gotten patched up by a vet or vet tech before - a wound bandage, some disinfected applied, a tooth (not mine) pulled out of a finger (mine).  I've never taken medication meant for the animals, though.  It's just not made for humans and it would be so easy for something to go wrong.  No responsible vet that I know would even suggest doing that.  It's not only a tremendous safety risk, but a horrible professional liability for them as well, likely a career-killer.

The good news is, if you don't want COVID (and you most certainly do NOT want it), there's a much safer option already in place.  Get the damn shot.