Live data from Hacker News

Chloroquine has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of Covid-19

jstage.jst.go.jp

71–80 of 269 posts

Re: Chloroquine has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of Covid-19

#71

i currently take Plaquenil (Hydroxychloroquine) for rheumatoid arthritis, and my doctor did indicate it may be helpful against Covid but not enough tests to confirm. Is it close enough to chloroquine to be the same ?

Yes.

Apparently the possible utility of chloroquine was discoevered because SLE patients on it in China weren't getting Covid-19 during the outbreak.

Re: Chloroquine has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of Covid-19

#73

So I’m not seeing mention of this anywhere else chloroquine is being talked about. Chloroquine used to be taken daily in many of the tropical Britain colonies suffering from malaria. chloroquine in the form of quinine is where the gin and tonic drink came from. Quinine mixed with carbonated water was drunk as a prophylactic. The quinine tasted so terrible it had to be cut with something to make it tolerable - gin! Th…

From wikipedia

> In the United States, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits the quinine content in tonic water to 83 ppm[3] (83 mg per liter if calculated by mass), while the daily therapeutic dose of quinine is in the range of 500–1000 mg,[4] and 10 mg/kg every eight hours for effective malaria prevention (2100 mg daily for a 70 kg adult).[5] It is often recommended as a relief for leg cramps, but medical research suggests some care is needed in monitoring doses.[6] Because of quinine's risks, the FDA cautions consumers against using "off-label" quinine drugs to treat leg cramps.[7]

For malaria prevention that's 25 liters of tonic or about about 200 gin and tonics per day.

Re: Chloroquine has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of Covid-19

#74

So I’m not seeing mention of this anywhere else chloroquine is being talked about. Chloroquine used to be taken daily in many of the tropical Britain colonies suffering from malaria. chloroquine in the form of quinine is where the gin and tonic drink came from. Quinine mixed with carbonated water was drunk as a prophylactic. The quinine tasted so terrible it had to be cut with something to make it tolerable - gin! Th…

[deleted]

Re: Chloroquine has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of Covid-19

#75
post #44

This is an increadibly potent drug with serious side effects according to anything I read, its not first-line treatment its last-line, when everything else fails. You can go blind, irreversibly. Please people, speak to trained medical people before reaching to the drug cabinet. I am not a doctor. This advice is not meant to contradict the rule of only taking medical advice from medical professionals.

You can just buy it over-the-counter in some countries, right? How dangerous can it really be? Follow the instructions on the box like citizens of those countries do.

IMO we in the US need to take the coronavirus as a wake up call to stop ignoring the medical systems of other countries and admit that they might have something to teach us. We shouldn’t just assume the American medical system is always the best one.

Re: Chloroquine has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of Covid-19

#76

So I’m not seeing mention of this anywhere else chloroquine is being talked about. Chloroquine used to be taken daily in many of the tropical Britain colonies suffering from malaria. chloroquine in the form of quinine is where the gin and tonic drink came from. Quinine mixed with carbonated water was drunk as a prophylactic. The quinine tasted so terrible it had to be cut with something to make it tolerable - gin! Th…

> As a cheap, safe bet it’s not unreasonable to start having a g&t each day along with a zinc pill.

The amount of quinine in tonic water off the mixers shelf is definitely not enough to have a medical impact. The flip side of how bitter it is, is that you need very little quinine to get the flavoring. "Real" tonic water like brits drank in india or whatever is muuuuch more bitter than the stuff you get today.

Maybe if you drank tonic syrup straight.

Re: Chloroquine has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of Covid-19

#77
post #75
post #44

This is an increadibly potent drug with serious side effects according to anything I read, its not first-line treatment its last-line, when everything else fails. You can go blind, irreversibly. Please people, speak to trained medical people before reaching to the drug cabinet. I am not a doctor. This advice is not meant to contradict the rule of only taking medical advice from medical professionals.

You can just buy it over-the-counter in some countries, right? How dangerous can it really be? Follow the instructions on the box like citizens of those countries do. IMO we in the US need to take the coronavirus as a wake up call to stop ignoring the medical systems of other countries and admit that they might have something to teach us. We shouldn’t just assume the American medical system is always the best one.

How dangerous is random medical advice from an internet forum? Over the counter drugs can potentially kill people, too, if used improperly.

Re: Chloroquine has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of Covid-19

#78
post #75
post #44

This is an increadibly potent drug with serious side effects according to anything I read, its not first-line treatment its last-line, when everything else fails. You can go blind, irreversibly. Please people, speak to trained medical people before reaching to the drug cabinet. I am not a doctor. This advice is not meant to contradict the rule of only taking medical advice from medical professionals.

You can just buy it over-the-counter in some countries, right? How dangerous can it really be? Follow the instructions on the box like citizens of those countries do. IMO we in the US need to take the coronavirus as a wake up call to stop ignoring the medical systems of other countries and admit that they might have something to teach us. We shouldn’t just assume the American medical system is always the best one.

When I was on hypertension meds, I was on S1 scheduled meds which required a script (in Australia). I visited an Asian city and bought them over the counter without a script.

These medicines are not something you should take if you do not need them. "how dangerous can it really be" is pretty much why rule one exists. Not the least of which is, antibiotics are available over-the-counter in some countries, and this contributes to why antibiotics are not as potent as they used to be.

Re: Chloroquine has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of Covid-19

#79
post #70

So I’m not seeing mention of this anywhere else chloroquine is being talked about. Chloroquine used to be taken daily in many of the tropical Britain colonies suffering from malaria. chloroquine in the form of quinine is where the gin and tonic drink came from. Quinine mixed with carbonated water was drunk as a prophylactic. The quinine tasted so terrible it had to be cut with something to make it tolerable - gin! Th…

I recently spent three years driving around Africa. Chloroquine is still a very common anti-malarial in many parts of the continent.

Name specific countries, to the best of my knowledge, it's no longer in use because malaria has become resistant to Chloroquine.

And I was glad to see it go out of use cos it caused crazy itching in many people.

Touching water was like pouring fuel on fire.

Anyway, even though I hated it, Chloroquine really worked while it worked.

Re: Chloroquine has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of Covid-19

#80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

83 milligrams per liter for tonic water, so about 6 liters to get a 500mg therapeutic dose.

Sign me up. I’ll also need about 13 liters of gin and a bag of ice.

Don't forget the limes.
Post reply on HN