Why You Shouldn't Take Veterinary Ivermectin

Farm supply stores sell ivermectin paste for horses and pour-on liquid for cattle, often for a few dollars. It's tempting to think it's the same medicine at a fraction of the price. It isn't safe to treat it that way, and poison centers saw why in recent years.

Same name, different products

The active ingredient is the same molecule, but almost everything else differs.

Concentration. Animal products are made to dose a horse or a steer, animals that can weigh well over 1,000 pounds. A tube of horse paste can contain many times the amount a person would ever be prescribed, and measuring a safe fraction of it by eye isn't realistic.

Inactive ingredients. Pour-ons, injectables and drenches can contain solvents and carriers meant for skin or stomachs of other species. They haven't been tested for human use.

Quality standards. Human medicines are made to FDA drug standards for people, with tested consistency from tablet to tablet. Animal products are regulated for animals.

Labeling. Nothing on an animal product tells you how a person should take it, because a person shouldn't.

What the FDA has said

The FDA has repeatedly warned people not to take ivermectin products intended for animals, and has reported people needing medical care, including hospitalization, after doing so. You can find its consumer updates on fda.gov. Poison control centers across the country reported a sharp rise in calls about animal ivermectin during the pandemic years.

What an overdose can look like

Reported symptoms of ivermectin toxicity include:

• nausea, vomiting and diarrhea
• low blood pressure
• itching and hives or swelling
• dizziness and problems with balance
• confusion, drowsiness or hallucinations
• seizures, coma, and in severe cases death

If you or someone else has taken an animal product, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 right away. For seizures, collapse or trouble breathing, call 911.

"But it's the same ingredient as the human pill"

So is the alcohol in hand sanitizer and in a glass of wine. Dose, form and purity decide whether something is safe. A human tablet such as Iverheal 3 states the amount of ivermectin in each tablet on the label, and a prescriber works out how many you need from your weight and condition. Our side effects guide covers the risks even at correct doses.

What it's approved for in people

Human ivermectin is approved for specific parasitic infections, mainly intestinal strongyloidiasis and river blindness, plus topical forms for head lice and rosacea. It isn't approved to treat or prevent COVID-19, and large NIH-funded trials didn't find a benefit. Our guide to ivermectin uses sets this out in more detail, and the National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus entry is a good neutral source.

Safer, legal ways to get human ivermectin

If you have a reason to take ivermectin, there are proper routes:

1. A prescription from your doctor or a telehealth prescriber, filled at a licensed pharmacy. This works in every state.
2. Pharmacist dispensing of FDA-approved ivermectin in states that allow it: Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Iowa and Missouri, each with its own rules. Our ivermectin OTC page and state guide explain them.

Either way, a pharmacist checks your health and other medicines first. How to get ivermectin walks through both routes, and the price guide shows that human tablets aren't as expensive as people assume. If you have a prescription, we sell Iverheal 3, Iverheal 6, Iverheal 12 and Iverheal 24. They're made in India by Healing Pharma, aren't FDA-approved, and every order needs a valid prescription, whichever state you live in.

Why people turn to animal products

It's usually one of three things: price, the belief that a prescription is impossible to get, or advice found online. Each has a better answer. Human generic ivermectin isn't expensive; see the price guide. A prescription is available from any licensed prescriber, including through telehealth. And in several states a pharmacist can dispense it without one. Our frequently asked questions cover the common worries.

Pets and ivermectin

There's one more safety angle: ivermectin is used in heartworm prevention for dogs, but some dogs, particularly certain herding breeds with a gene called MDR1, are very sensitive to it. Human tablets should never be given to pets, and pet products should never be given to people. Keep both in their own clearly labeled containers, out of reach of children and animals.

If you've already taken an animal product

Don't wait for symptoms. Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 and have the product packaging in front of you so you can read out the name, concentration and how much was taken. They'll tell you whether to go to an emergency department. For severe symptoms such as a seizure or collapse, call 911 first.

Talking to someone who's considering it

If a friend or family member is planning to use animal ivermectin, the most useful thing is often practical: show them the state guide for where they live and the legitimate route that applies. A safer option that's easy to reach beats an argument.

Storing medicines safely at home

Households with animals often have veterinary ivermectin in a barn, garage or cupboard. Keep it in its original packaging, clearly separated from human medicines, and out of reach of children, who can be harmed by even small amounts. When a product expires or is no longer needed, follow the disposal advice on the label or ask your vet. The same goes for human tablets: keep them in the labeled pharmacy packaging, never decant them into unmarked containers, and don't share them with anyone, because the dose and the screening were for you.

If a child or pet gets into either kind of product, treat it as an emergency even if they seem fine. Call Poison Control or your vet straight away with the packaging in hand, because symptoms can take hours to appear.

The short version

Animal ivermectin is made for animals, at animal doses, with ingredients nobody has tested in people. The savings aren't worth a trip to the ER. Use a human product, at a dose a prescriber or pharmacist sets.