# Ivermectin Isn't Horse Medicine! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [August 31, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831 "2021-08-31T16:18:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/161 "2022-03-22T21:25:29Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Which inevitably leads to the classic XKCD cartoon: +1 “xxx kills cancer cells in a petri dish” As does soap and water. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/162 "2022-03-22T21:47:17Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > “xxx kills cancer cells in a petri dish” > As does soap and water. What about bleach? Or maybe ultraviolet light? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/163 "2022-03-22T23:30:39Z")
If you don’t schedule your appointment at Trump Clinic right away, it’ll be so sad. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/164 "2022-03-22T23:33:09Z")
Even that doesn’t really answer the question, though. Why was a lab even testing the effect of ivermectin on viruses? Were they just doing preliminary tests on hundreds of different established medicines, and that’s the one that got [green jellybeaned](https://xkcd.com/882/)? ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/165 "2022-03-23T00:56:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Why was a lab even testing the effect of ivermectin on viruses? In 2012 the same lab and researcher published results of treatment trials which identified the molecule as having properties which inhibited HIV interactions. In a worldwide search with a degree of some urgency for a COVID anti-viral, why wouldn’t you give that a burl? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/166 "2022-03-23T02:26:16Z")
There’s an XKCD for everything! I don’t know the answer to your question. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/167 "2022-03-24T12:50:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Were they just doing preliminary tests on hundreds of different established medicines, and that’s the one that got [green jellybeaned](https://xkcd.com/882/)? AIUI, it’s not a “green jellybean” situation: ivermectin really does have antiviral effects on cell cultures in a petri dish at high concentrations, and these results are reproducible. What’s left out is that the required concentration for a measurable therapeutic effect is higher than what is safely achievable in a living, breathing human being. > **[Ivermectin during the COVID-19 pandemic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivermectin_during_the_COVID-19_pandemic#Research_and_clinical_guidelines)** > > Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that is well established for use in animals and people. The World Health Organization (WHO), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) all advise against using ivermectin in an attempt to treat or prevent COVID-19. > Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, laboratory research suggested ivermectin might have a role in preventing or treating COVID-19. Online misinforma... ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/168 "2022-03-24T13:17:58Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > What’s left out is that the required concentration for a measurable therapeutic effect is higher than what is safely achievable in a living, breathing human being. So, what you are saying is that if they take enough, they won’t be suffering from COVID anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/169 "2022-03-24T13:39:21Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > So, what you are saying is that if they take enough, they won’t be suffering from COVID anymore. They won’t be suffering from _anything._ ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/170 "2022-03-24T13:51:46Z")
Ah, it’s a cure all. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/171 "2022-03-24T14:05:35Z")
I believe the suggestion to ingest bleach also falls into this category. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/172 "2022-03-25T18:13:18Z")
Trump made the bleach claim after receiving a letter from a huge scammer, someone that started a religion around selling a toxic bleach compound for human consumption. He claimed it was a miracle cure for everything, including autism, cancer and Covid He believed if he framed his scam as a religion, and the bleach product as a sacrament, he could evade the law. He was wrong, he’s since been arrested and the scam has been shut down. But it was still going strong back when Trump promoted it on TV. > **[Revealed: leader of group peddling bleach as coronavirus 'cure' wrote to...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/24/revealed-leader-group-peddling-bleach-cure-lobbied-trump-coronavirus)** > > Mark Grenon wrote to Trump saying chlorine dioxide ‘can rid the body of Covid-19’ days before the president promoted disinfectant as treatment ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/173 "2022-03-25T18:55:05Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Trump made the bleach claim after receiving a letter from a huge scammer, someone that started a religion around selling a toxic bleach compound for human consumption. He claimed it was a miracle cure for everything, including autism, cancer and Covid [Yellow teeth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clorox-safe-for-teeth-y-n/675138)😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2022, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831/174 "2022-03-26T14:11:52Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > He believed if he framed his scam as a religion, and the bleach product as a sacrament, he could evade the law. He was wrong, he’s since been arrested and the scam has been shut down. But it was still going strong back when Trump promoted it on TV. The Genesis Church MMS bonanza may be over, but quackery promoters are still cashing in on the loony belief that ingesting or bathing in chlorine dioxide bleach is a wonder cure. There are lots of ads on Amazon and eBay for “water purification kits” composed of bottles of chemicals which when combined, produce chlorine dioxide. Somehow I doubt that all those buyers are going camping or preparing for the breakdown of civilization and municipal water treatment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ivermectin-isnt-horse-medicine/949831.md?page=8)