Lianhua Qingwen, Ivermectin at Self-Medication

Photo from Igan Clavio's FB page

Ang paghahanap ba ng mamamayan ng gamot at iba pa para di mahawaan ng COVID-19 ay resulta ng kabiguan ng gobyerno na sila ay ma-proteksyunan?

Ni Igan Clavio

Noong una, kumalat ang galing at bisa ng isang popular traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) na Lianhua Qingwen.

Ayon sa Chinese Embassy, ang Lianhua Qingwen capsule ay isang approved COVID-19 treatment para sa ‘mild and moderate patients’ sa China, maging sa Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) at Macao SAR, Brazil, Indonesia, Canada, Mozambique, Romania, Thailand, Ecuador, Singapore at Laos.

Sinasabi na 284 na COVID-19 patients sa 28 ospital sa China ang pinainom ng Lianhua Qingwen, at matapos ang 14 na araw ay nakaramdam ng ginhawa at nag-negatibo na sa virus.

Kumalat ang testimonya ni MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos sa naging tulong ng Lianhua Qingwen sa kanya. Maging si dating Sen. Bongbong Marcos ay nabanggit na ito rin ang kanyang ininom ng maging COVID-19 positive.

Dahil sa public pressure, ipinagtibay ng Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ang paggamit nito sa Pilipinas. Pero nilinaw ng FDA na ang Certificate of Product Registration for the Philippines ng Lianhua Qingwen ay para lang sa heat-toxin invasion ng lungs, fever, aversion to cold, muscle soreness, at stuffy at runny nose.

Ngayon naman, kumakalat sa social media ang Ivermectin bilang mabisang gamot na naman sa COVID-19 virus.

Kaliwa’t kanan ang mga patotoo na gumaling sila matapos uminom ng Ivermectin.

Sa Amerika, ito ay ginagamit para mapigilan o magamot ang parasites sa mga hayop, lalo na sa kabayo.

Narito ang bahagi ng article ng US FDA tungkol sa Ivermectin:

Q: Should I take Ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19?

A: No. While there are approved uses for Ivermectin in people and animals, it is not approved for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. You should not take any medicine to treat or prevent COVID-19 unless it has been prescribed to you by your health care provider and acquired from a legitimate source.

A recently released research article described the effect of Ivermectin on SARS-CoV-2 in a laboratory setting. These types of laboratory studies are commonly used at an early stage of drug development. Additional testing is needed to determine whether ivermectin might be appropriate to prevent or treat coronavirus or COVID-19.

Q: Is there an emergency use authorization for Ivermectin in the U.S. to prevent or treat coronavirus or COVID-19?

A: No.  FDA has created a special emergency program for possible therapies, the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP). It uses every available method to move new treatments to patients as quickly as possible, while at the same time finding out whether they are helpful or harmful. We continue to support clinical trials that are testing new treatments for COVID so that we can gain valuable knowledge about their safety and effectiveness.

Q: Is there any danger to humans taking Ivermectin?

A: There are approved uses for Ivermectin in people and animals but it is not approved for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. You should not take any medicine to treat or prevent COVID-19 unless it has been prescribed to you by your health care provider and acquired from a legitimate source.

Some of the side-effects that may be associated with Ivermectin include skin rash, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, facial or limb swelling, neurologic adverse events (dizziness, seizures, confusion), sudden drop in blood pressure, severe skin rash potentially requiring hospitalization and liver injury (hepatitis).

Laboratory test abnormalities include decrease in white cell count and elevated liver tests. Any use of Ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 should be avoided as its benefits and safety for these purposes have not been established. Data from clinical trials are necessary for us to determine whether Ivermectin is safe and effective in treating or preventing COVID-19.

Sa column ni Dr. Edsel Salvana ng Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, binanggit na hindi pa pinal ang mga pagsusuri sa Ivermectin laban sa COVID-19 virus.

Mas maganda aniya na abangan ang resulta ng 70 trial na ginagawa sa Ivermectin.

Sa Brazil kung saan mataas ang Ivermectin usage, umabot na naman sa 2,000 bawat araw ang namamatay sanhi ng COVID-19 virus. Mas mataas pa sa Pilipinas.

Mismong ang orihinal na drug manufacturer na Merck, ayon kay Dr. Salvana, ay hindi nirerekomenda ang paggamit ng Ivermectin sa COVID-19 at iba pang viral infection.

Naghain na ng resolusyon si Rep. Mike Defensor para alamin ang mahahalagang impormasyon kaugnay ng Ivermectin.

Ang paghahanap ba ng mamamayan ng gamot at iba pa para di mahawaan ng COVID-19 ay resulta ng kabiguan ng gobyerno na sila ay ma-proteksyunan?

Maliban sa pagbabalik sa ECQ sa NCR Plus bubble, panawagan sa pagsusuot ng face mask, face shield, paghuhugas ng kamay, at pag-iwas sa mataong lugar ang ilan sa epektibong paraan para mapigilan ang hawaan ng virus.

Mga ‘iGan, mag-ingat pa rin sa ‘self medication’ lalo na ang source ng inyong impormasyon ay sa social media. Huwag hayaan na ipasok sa inyong katawan ang anumang bagay na kulang kayo sa kaalaman.

Walang personalan.

Igan Clavio is a multi-awarded broadcast journalist.