Hydroxychloroquine

What is hydroxychloroquine? It was used to treat malaria, lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. It is a prescription drug that means, without a medical prescription from a doctor the medicine cannot be purchased. Mostly hydroxychloroquine is used as a part of combination theory, in the sense you may have to take it with another drug.

The common side effects are:

• Headache

• Dizziness

• Diarrhea

• Stomach cramps

• Vomiting

This may also lead to blurred vision or vision changes, heart failure and issues with hearth rhythm, muscle weakness, affects mental health, hearing loss and more.

This drug is available as a brand name drug and a generic one.

Generic: Hydroxychloroquine

Strength: 200 mg

Brand Name: Plaquenil

Strength: 200 mg

Dr Sanjay Gupta, the chief medical correspondent, says that we should not take this drug. He claims that although the fact that it has been used to cure Malaria, but for people who already have the COVID there are some concerns like impact in the heart which may cause a heart attack. Also Dr Vivek Murthy, former US Surgeon General, claims that just because a medicine has been around doesn’t mean it doesn’t have side effects. He also stated that test conducted as far as now with hydroxychloroquine doesn’t confirm that it reduces the shortening the duration of infection. He finally stated that “the clear message I wanted the public to hear is that there is no evidence that tells us taking hydroxychloroquine is either safe or effective for preventing COVID-19”. fv