Online debate about ivermectin has been loud and long, which can make simple facts hard to find. Below, you will find the settled facts, the claims that lack support and the way prescribing works at Peoples First Rx.
Some background first. Ivermectin is an antiparasitic medicine, available only with a prescription, and people have been treated with it for decades. It also appears in the Model List of Essential Medicines kept by the World Health Organization.
What it does to a parasite
Here is the short version of how ivermectin acts:
- Drug family: the avermectins.
- Target: nerve and muscle cells in many parasites depend on glutamate-gated chloride channels, and those channels are where ivermectin acts.
- Effect: paralysis, which lets the body get rid of the parasite.
- A reason it is usually well tolerated: people do not rely on those channels in the same way.
What FDA approval covers
The FDA’s consumer update Ivermectin and COVID-19 spells out the approvals. Ivermectin tablets are approved to treat two conditions in people, both caused by parasitic worms: strongyloidiasis of the intestinal tract and onchocerciasis. Approval for head lice, and for skin conditions such as rosacea, belongs to different products altogether: topical forms of ivermectin.
Can a physician use an approved medicine for a condition outside its approved uses? They can, and doing so is called off-label prescribing. It is lawful and common in medicine, and whether to do it is the physician’s call. Off-label use does come with a limit: no FDA evaluation stands behind that particular use.
The COVID-19 question
On COVID-19, that same FDA update leaves no room for doubt. Ivermectin has not been authorized or approved by the FDA for preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or in animals. The agency also says the clinical trial data available so far do not demonstrate that ivermectin is effective against COVID-19 in humans.
No ivermectin prescription is issued through Peoples First Rx to prevent or treat COVID-19 or any other viral illness.
Never use animal ivermectin
You will also find ivermectin sold for pets and livestock. The FDA notes that those animal products are formulated differently from the versions approved for people, and its guidance is plain: medicines meant for animals should never be used on yourself or on anyone else. Whatever the reason, an animal product is never a substitute for medicine prescribed to you.
Capsules, not tablets
The oral ivermectin the FDA approved comes as a tablet. When ivermectin is prescribed through Peoples First Rx, Rush Pharmacy, a state-licensed pharmacy, dispenses it in a different form: compounded oral capsules. Being compounded, those capsules lack FDA approval; their safety, effectiveness and quality have not been verified by the agency before sale.
Before anything is dispensed, your physician confirms which form you will get, and the label on your order names the pharmacy that dispensed it.
Before and during treatment
If you take ivermectin, watch for possible side effects such as dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, itching or rash. Clearing a large number of parasites at the same time can trigger a temporary inflammatory reaction, so let your care team know if that happens.
Be sure your physician knows if any of these apply to you:
- pregnancy, breastfeeding or plans to become pregnant
- liver disease
- a weakened immune system
- time spent in parts of West or Central Africa where the Loa loa eye worm is found
Because ivermectin is dosed by body weight, on a schedule that depends on the condition, no single dose would be right to print here. Yours belongs on your pharmacy label.
Who decides, and how
The decision rests with a physician who is board-certified and licensed in your state. Before making it, they weigh your symptoms, your travel and exposure history, the medicines you currently take and any other health conditions. Along the way the physician might send follow-up questions, suggest testing or advise you to be seen in person. Ivermectin may turn out not to be the right choice. In that case the physician says so directly and explains the reasoning.
If you notice a side effect, your care team should know about it. You are also free to report it on your own to FDA MedWatch by calling 1-800-FDA-1088. For a medical emergency, call 911.
