Rigby5
Diamond Member
- Apr 23, 2017
- 31,996
- 10,784
Side effects from hydroxychloroquine are really very minimal. It’s used as first line in Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis specifically because it’s so benign.
The people listing what is on the packet insert really don’t know what they’re talking about.
Wrong.
The way hydroxychloroquine works is by REDUCING the immune response from the body.
That is because sometimes the immune response is worse then the infection, and is what is killing you.
But if you are not in that dire state, then taking an immune response inhibitor is a really, really BAD idea.
If you are not on the verge of death from a high fever, then taking hydroxychloroquine is likely to greatly increase the spread of COVID-19 in your body.
Hydroxychloroquine has been proven to cause pneumonia for example.
{...
CONCLUSIONS: Hydroxychloroquine exerts its effect on the immune system by decreasing lymphocyte proliferation and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-alpha. These are potential mechanisms that can render a host susceptible to infections such as pneumonia. This patient had evidence of selective IgG2 deficiency that correlated with administration of hydroxychloroquine. This is a previously unrecognized alteration of the humoral immune system by this medication.
...}
Hydroxychloroquine is NEVER a first choice treatment, and always has high potential risk.
Sure it is used for Lyme Disease, Lupus, etc., but that is because nothing else works at all for those, and Hydroxychloroquine is a very long shot. No one would ever say Hydroxychloroquine is benign.
It simply is not.
It is a strong immune system inhibitor, which is always very risky to take.
Well, I’ve prescribed it a lot and that’s because it is pretty benign. Far more benign than the alternatives for lupus for example.
It doesn’t cause pneumonia, it just makes one more susceptible, but the overall risk is low. I agree it shouldn’t be used on ambulatory people, and would never use it as such, but for people sick enough to be hospitalized with known COVID, it is used.
Correct.
Normally there is not much risk from an immune system response inhibiter.
And it if very good if there is an inappropriate or extreme immune system response, like Lupus.
And yes it does not cause pneumonia, but only makes pneumonia more likely, slightly.
Which normally is no problem, but can be a huge problem with those with COVID-19, who already are at greater pneumonia risk.
However, once a person is near dying, there is no reason to not try all sorts of things.
It is just that Hydroxychloroquine is only logical to prescribe if the patient's main problem is an out of control fever.