I'm in a debate with a friend over the safeness of animal-labeled ivermectin vs. human-labeled ivermectin. They're not debating whether or not the ivermectin itself is safe, but they are pointing to a multitude of resources about whether or not "horse ivermectin" is safe for humans. They are swearing up and down that horse paste will harm humans, cause cancer, give people bad side-effects from improper and dangerous components added to it, and more. There's simply no way to get human-labeled ivermectin in our area and animal (horse) paste variety is still available. I know three families that have given it to their kids and aged family and everyone is doing GREAT after a full round of horse paste.
I can't find any evidence that the horse paste variety has anything bad in it. I understand people might have an aversion to it, but I would like to convince this person that it is safe. They have some family that is very much at risk and it seems like they are going to default to doctors and bad treatments if they can't find a "human option".
Any kind of documentation for ingredients or anything that demonstrates the safety of animal varieties would be really helpful.
Found this on Wikipedia of all places: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivermectin
"Ivermectin is a medication used to treat parasite infestations.[6][7] In humans, these include head lice, scabies, river blindness (onchocerciasis), strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ascariasis, and lymphatic filariasis.[6][8][9][10] In veterinary medicine, the medication is used to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis, among other indications.[9] Ivermectin works through many mechanisms of action that result in the death of the targeted parasites;[6] it can be taken by mouth or applied to the skin for external infestations.[6][11] The drug belongs to the avermectin family of medications.[6]
Ivermectin was discovered in 1975 and came into medical use in 1981;[12][13] William Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for its discovery and applications.[14] The medication is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines,[15] and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an antiparasitic agent.[16] In 2018, ivermectin was the 420th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than one hundred thousand prescriptions.[17] It is available as a generic medicine.[18][19]"
"Following its blockbuster success as a veterinary antiparasitic, another Merck scientist, Mohamed Aziz, collaborated with the World Health Organization to test the safety and efficacy of ivermectin against onchocerciasis in humans.[71] They found it to be highly safe and effective,[72"
"Ivermectin earned the title of "wonder drug" for the treatment of nematodes and arthropod parasites.[73] Ivermectin has been used safely by hundreds of millions of people to treat river blindness and lymphatic filariasis.[7]"
Here is one study from the Wikipedia site:
"Ivermectin – Old Drug, New Tricks?" Trends Parasitol. 2017 Jun; 33(6): 463–472.
If you scroll down to the bottom of the Wikipedia page you will find a wealth of empirical studies
Horse version below:
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=1fd56c44-11ee-4d47-acad-4da867376eee
For Oral Use in Horses Only
IVERMECTIN (ivermectin paste) 1.87%
Anthelmentic & Boticide
Removes worms and bots with a single dose
Net Wt. 0.21 oz (6.08) Contents will treat up to 1250 lb body weight
Approved by FDA under # 200-326
Apple Flavored