With the spread of the coronavirus across the world and the increasing numbers of infected people in Nigeria, there is need to take cautions on drugs to be used in an attempt to self-medicate once you have developed symptoms like high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature), a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual).
You are only to self-isolate for a period of …if you have travelled to a region where there is COVID-19 outbreak or been in contact with someone who has been infected. Then you call on health officials for timely quarantine so you can be treated accordingly. Chloroquine is never the option guys! You are NOT meant to treat yourself with hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin which the American President Trump – a non-medical expert claims MAY be effective for the treatment of Covid-19. It’s been reported that the World Health Orgniazation “has NOT approved the use of chloroquine for #COVID19 management,” as “Scientists are working hard to confirm the safety of several drugs for this disease.”
Do not ever pay attention to the tweet by President Trump of US on Saturday 21st March, which says: ”HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE& AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine”. In case you don’t know, President Trump only THINKS that the two drugs in his words: “may work, it may not work”. He just felt “good about it. That’s all it is. Just a feeling.” he said (statnews.com). According to him, “I think it could be, based on what I see, it could be a game changer. Very powerful, they’re very powerful,” (buzzfeednews.com). All this came about after reports recently surfaced that some doctors were using Chloroquine in some countries including South Korea, China, and France “to treat patients”.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, who was at the same press conference where Trump said this statement also cautioned that the drug(s) “has not been approved as a treatment for Covid-19, and right now, the evidence for its effectiveness is sparse”. Dr. Anthony Fauci emphasized the need for a methodical clinical trial. “We’re trying to strike a balance between making something with a potential of an effect to the American people available, at the same time that we do it under the auspices of a protocol that would give us information to determine if it’s truly safe and truly effective,” he said (statnews.com)
The Nigerian Health officials on Sunday 22nd March has warned about cases of chloroquine poisoning while confirming “that two people were hospitalized in Lagos for overdoses of the anti-Malaria drug” following President Trump’s promotion as a potential treatment (Bloomberg reported). As of 23rd March, a man was reportedly died after self-medicating with a drug trump promoted as a potential treatment for the coronavirus (reported buzzfeednews.com). It’s also been reported that “a clinical trial of those two drugs (Hydroxychloroquine & Azithromycin) in China found that patients with COVID-19 who were given the drugs “did not improve”
Senior health assistant to the governor of Lagos, OreoluwaFinnih has also said “Chloroquine is still in a testing phase in combination with other medication and not yet verified as a preventive treatment or curative option,”. Nigeria’s Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has also cautioned citizens from self-medicating with the drug, which is still undergoing testing for safety and effectiveness. So, do not self-treat Conora virus once you have confirmed the symptoms that you have been infected with COVD-19 after self-isolation. Do not panic, do not and use chloroquine. Please call on health officials in your location for immediate quarantine.
Corona Virus is still spreading. It could be transferred from person to person by droplets produced through coughing or sneezing. It could be transferred when touching a surface contaminated by virus-containing droplets. Some people can even spread the infection without showing symptoms. Please always protect yourself from being infected. Follow the WHO general guidance on preventionwhich includes:
- Keep your hands clean frequently with either soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer where water is not available
- Cover your mouth anytime you cough or sneeze. Throw away used tissues. To protect others around you.
- Avoid spending time around people who have a fever or cough. Remember social distancing is very important in this context. Keep 2 metres apart
- As you continue to stay at home, if you show symptoms of the COVID-19 virus (cough, fever, shortness of breath), call the attention of the health officials in your location
