Everyone is disturbed from the deadly corona virus with lockdowns and different regulations that are being imposed on the people for there safety from this virus. With no ray of hope suddenly a there appears a ray of hope in this blackout and that hope is Hydroxychloroquine, people all around the globe are seeing it as a healer from corona virus, but still there is a question is it really a healer and can act as an antidote for corona virus or it is just a myth which is being forwarded all over the globe.
The drug can help tame an overactive immune system. It’s been used since the 1940s to prevent and treat malaria, and to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. It’s sold in generic form and under the brand name Plaquenil in the United States. Doctors also can prescribe it off label for other purposes, as many are doing now for COVID-19.
Now if we talk about what is the evidence that this drug can be used for treating covid19?
Some small and very preliminary studies give conflicting results. One lab study suggested it curbed the virus’ ability to enter cells. Another report on 11 people found it did not improve how fast patients cleared the virus or their symptoms. A report from China claimed the drug helped more than 100 patients at 10 hospitals, but they had various degrees of illness and were treated with various doses for different lengths of time, and might have recovered without the drug there was no group that didn’t get the drug for comparison. Other researchers in China reported that cough, pneumonia and fever seemed to improve sooner among 31 patients given Hydroxychloroquine compared to 31 others who did not get the drug, although fewer people in the comparison group had cough or fevers to start with. Four people developed severe illness and all were in the group that did not get the drug. These results were posted online and have not been reviewed by other scientists or published in a journal.
Finally, the small study from France that President Donald Trump touted as evidence of the drug’s benefit is now in question. The head of the journal that published it has put out an “expression of concern” about its methods. Larger, more rigorous studies are underway now.
There are not only benefits of taking this drug it also comes with some of the risks that should be taken care of that it can cause heart rhythm problems, severely low blood pressure and muscle or nerve damage.
Therefore at last i would like to convey that this drug is not yet declared as a healer for corona virus, rigorous studies are going on to find the best possible results. So, we should not be careless by thinking that there is an antidote of this virus and we should stay at home in order to be safe and healthy !