Ivermectin has been in the news a lot lately, and veterinarians will say it’s for all the wrong reasons.

Chris Clark from the Western College of Veterinary says the veterinary form of Ivermectin is designed for animals like horses, sheep and cattle and in no way should humans intake the veterinary form of Ivermactin. Clark added that Ivermectin is designed for animals that weigh about 500 kg,  and there’s a high amount of risk of overdose when a human uses a dosage level that’s recommended for an animal that’s much larger than themselves.

When it comes to finding out the proper information and usage of Ivermectin, Clark suggests looking at the box of the product, instead of reading it online “No matter what you’ve read online, you need to trust what it says on the label. It says there, right on the label, not intended for human use. The drug companies who sell these products know exactly what they’re doing, because that information is worth more than what you see on some internet webpage.”

With the talk of Ivermectin being a possible treatment for COVID-19, the product has been in high demand in feed stores across Western Canada, as a result it has been pulled from the shelves. Clark noted at the University, if anyone wants to purchase Ivermectin, they have to provide a prescription, before it was available for purchase over the counter.