# Man dies after ingesting chloroquine phosphate **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 24, 2020, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159 "2020-03-24T08:42:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/41 "2020-03-26T01:35:34Z")
Hydroxychloroquine (sulfate) and Chloroquine (diphosphate) are both antimalarial drugs, very similar (hydroxychloroquine is a derivative of chloroquine). Both are reasonably safe drugs at the recommended dosages. They are NOT benign however, both have significant side effects, particularly for those who are allergic or who possess a particular genetic mutation. Neither should be taken casually. Overdose is possible if you don’t know what you’re doing and it’s a nasty way to go. If you don’t kill yourself, permanent eye damage is another possibility. The symptoms of the folk who got sick and died taking fish meds sound like classic chloroquine overdose to me. They probably took the whole bottle. There is anecdotal evidence that both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine may have some efficacy against COVID19. There are no results yet from large trials that would actually tell us if there in a benefit. There are results from several small trials and these results are mixed; some say it helps, some say no benefit. So the jury is still out. I have both of these chemicals in my lab and we use them in our experiments all the time. Would I take them if I was sick? Based on what i’ve seen no I would not, unless I was dying anyway and the hospitals were shut down. Then, what the hell - nothing to lose. At least I have a decent microscale and know the proper dosage so i’m unlikely to kill myself with an overdose. But it wouldn’t be my first choice to treat myself. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/42 "2020-03-26T01:44:52Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I never thought about it until now, but that totally makes sense. To add another random factoid, the origin of tonic water was as an anti-malarial drug. It was given to British sailors, and as I understand it the quinine content was much higher in those days, since that was the active ingredient. That gave it a much stronger bitter flavor. So they added gin and lime juice (also part of a British sailor’s rations) to make it more palatable. I thought British sailors received rum in their rations. Does anyone know the brand name of the fish medication that was taken? I have aquariums and I’m curious. I wouldn’t take any of that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/43 "2020-03-26T01:49:35Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I never thought about it until now, but that totally makes sense. To add another random factoid, the origin of tonic water was as an anti-malarial drug. It was given to British sailors, and as I understand it the quinine content was much higher in those days, since that was the active ingredient. That gave it a much stronger bitter flavor. So they added gin and lime juice (also part of a British sailor’s rations) to make it more palatable. Quinine used to be available OTC as a treatment for nighttime leg cramps. Some people still drink tonic water for this purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Harrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac8455/32.png) [@Harrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harrington)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/44 "2020-03-26T02:36:39Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Does anyone know the brand name of the fish medication that was taken? I have aquariums and I’m curious. I wouldn’t take any of that stuff. [https://www.tokopedia.com/reefcool/cp-medic-chloroquine-by-magna-obat-white-spot](https://www.tokopedia.com/reefcool/cp-medic-chloroquine-by-magna-obat-white-spot) I don’t know if this was the brand that was ingested by the couple, but it is _a_ brand. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/45 "2020-03-26T16:45:29Z")
Hell, even if you take the human-grade one, you’re still taking the risk of side effects. This is true of any drug, but this hits home because my otherwise healthy 77 year old aunt is currently sick due to side effects - from antimalarials! She took doctor-prescribed antimalarials prior to a recent trip to Africa (not sure if it was this particular one). After she got back, she started feeling ill and it turned out that she was experiencing a very rare side effect which completely messed with her liver. Fortunately she is expected to make a full recovery, but in the meantime she’s stuck going for weekly blood testing. She’s absurdly healthy and fit for her age, but she’s still in a very high-risk category due to her age and in a weakened state due to the illness, and has to go to the place where the sick people are. This is all an unfortunate case of bad timing and the fact that she just got unlucky with the rare side effect, but sheesh! And this was all from a totally common drug that doesn’t usually cause problems. Taking fish drops…well, Darwin is having a laugh at those morons. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/46 "2020-03-26T17:54:08Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > This reminds me of the guy who bought pure caffeine, basically ate it like it was rock candy, and died. His parents went on a huge campaign against the caffeine industry instead of accepting that their son was an irresponsible idiot. > You can blame Trump for this all you want, but at some point the emptor has to caveat. There’s a family in my area whose son died 3 weeks after getting the still-controversial HPV vaccine. No, he didn’t die from a rare neurological disorder which was probably precipitated by severe dehydration resulting from two-a-day summertime football practice; he died from that vaccine. :smack: While I feel terrible for them, having lost a child, I personally think that their one-family campaign to get it banned is misguided. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/47 "2020-03-26T21:19:05Z")
I’m sure they will have investigated the circumstances, but it crossed my mind to wonder whether the wife deliberately poisoned her husband and then took some herself as a cover story. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/48 "2020-03-26T22:20:40Z")
> [@Harrington](#): > > [https://www.tokopedia.com/reefcool/cp-medic-chloroquine-by-magna-obat-white-spot](https://www.tokopedia.com/reefcool/cp-medic-chloroquine-by-magna-obat-white-spot) > > I don’t know if this was the brand that was ingested by the couple, but it is _a_ brand. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/49 "2020-03-26T22:23:19Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > I’m sure they will have investigated the circumstances, but it crossed my mind to wonder whether the wife deliberately poisoned her husband and then took some herself as a cover story. I like the way you think! Several years ago, a woman got off killing her husband. She was holding a cast iron frying pan, and he goosed her. She dropped the pan oh his head. In reality, I think she said, “Honey, scratch my butt…” WHAM! ---
**Author:** ![Malcontent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Malcontent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malcontent)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/50 "2020-03-27T01:50:01Z")
Finally, an intelligent discussion on the subject. The media as well as idiots on Twitter are saying it was an ingredient in “fish tank cleaner” or even “fish tank solvent.” I’ve blocked more people on Twitter in the last two days than the last two years. Twenty years of fish keeping and I’ve never used chemical cleaners let alone one with chloroquine in it. I suspect their goal was a sensational headline by trying to equate “fish tank cleaner” with brake, drain, or toilet cleaner. Or they were too lazy to spend 30 seconds on Google to learn what it’s actually used for. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/51 "2020-03-27T02:48:32Z")
Chloroquine (hydroxy- or otherwise) is an anti-malarial drug. Malaria is a parasitic infection. So maybe it’s useful for other parasitic infections too. If I read the stories right, the fish-tank version is not a tank cleaner, but an anti-parasitic drug. You dissolve a tablet in the water, and it treats or prevents some kind of parasitic infections in your fish. ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/52 "2020-03-27T17:46:42Z")
Believing even ONE thing coming from the mouth of the Mango Idiot was mistake #1. All consequences of that were bound to follow. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159/53 "2020-03-28T14:40:21Z")
API General Cure supposedly has it, but I’ve not seen it listed as an[ingredient.](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=api+general+cure) Perhaps your basic journalist doesn’t know of anything about aquariums other than they should be cleaned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-phosphate/850159.md?page=2)