HCOS and COVID-19

What is Hydroxychloroquine?

                    It is a Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic Drug (DMARD).We all have been coming across this name after the outbreak of COVID-19.Basically Hydroxychloroquine (HCOS) is a prescribed medicine for Malaria and other autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid arthritis and is now used to treat COVID-19.

Why do we use HCOS against Corona virus?

                    There are couple of reasons to use it:-

·         A promising lab research have conducted an experiment in which they grew animal cells by animal tissue culture technique and infected them with Corona virus. After infecting, they treated the cells with HCOS and they found out that it blocked corona virus from invading the cells

·         In China and France doctors have experimented that if HCOS is given along with an antibiotic named “Azithromycin” it helps the patients who are at milder stages of COVID-19.

·         Other reason is that HCOS can control an overactive immune system, as in severe cases of COVID-19 immune system seems to go into overdrive and damage lungs and other organs.

Is HCOS approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)?

                    Yes, in late March it was granted an emergency approval allow the hospitals to use HCOS to treat COVID-19.

Are there any side effects of HCOS?

               Yes, as a coin has two sides it has a couple of side effects as follows:

·         Skin rashes.

·         Nausea.

·         Diarrhea.

·         Headaches.

·         Hair loss.

·         Tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

·         Visual damage (mainly retina is damaged).

-          Sahil Sarda