Coronavirus: Why you should not self-diagnose Chloroquine when you see symptoms

Since Trump erroneously said that Chloroquine has been approved as a cure for Coronavirus and Nigerians heard of it, the moves people have been making have been a little worrisome and that’s putting it very mildly. For instance, our report here shows that the drug has begun to leave Pharmacy shelves at an alarming rate.

See, not only has Trump’s claim been quashed, health practitioners are actually warning against the use of the anti-malarial drug indiscriminately. That is, without proper prescription from a medical doctor.

So why should you not use Chloroquine?

It has not been approved for this purpose yet

Chloroquine is actually used for Malaria treatment. It could be used in the treatment for Coronavirus but that has to wait till it is approved and declared fit for this purpose.

In a series of Tweets by Dr Olufunmilayo Harvey [@DrOlufunmilayo], a Nigerian MD practicing in the NHS, United Kingdom: “before a particular drug can be used in the treatment of an illness, there is a lot of research and clinical trials that goes into ensuring the dose, safety and effectiveness of that drug in the treatment of that illness.

“Until all that is completed, It’s more of speculation.”

Olufunmilayo Harvey [Credit - Subject] Olufunmilayo Harvey [Credit - Subject] Pulse Nigeria

You actually need a doctor’s prescription to do so

But the thing is no doctor will prescribe it to you because… again, it is not approved for the purpose. And all that is going on now is that the drug is in its testing phase.

Although it is said to be showing great potential for that purpose, it may be too early to start using it. And it’s even doubly terrible to self-diagnose.

Chloroquine can be potentially dangerous

According to Doctor Olufunmilayo, overdose of chloroquine can actually cause

- Headache

- Drowsiness,

- Slow heart rate,

- Confusion,

- Seizures/convulsion,

- Slow breathing,

- Loss of consciousness.

- And death.

What now?

Patience. The world is frantically looking for answers and with the potential being shown by Chloroquine in its testing phase, it may well be the drug or one of the drugs to help in the fight against Coronavirus.

But until there is an endorsement by the right quarters, it may be wise to not do anything drastic or make uninformed decisions.

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