3 ms·

> doesn't mean it's universally safe _Table salt_ is not safe. Eat 100 grams of it and you will die. This does, however, mean that it's not as "dangerous" as

by m0zg 7y ago

> doesn't mean it's universally safe _Table salt_ is not safe. Eat 100 grams of it and you will die. This does, however, mean that it's not as "dangerous" as the mainstream press wants you to believe. It's a 50 year old drug used all over the world. If it was "deadly", we'd know it by now. CDC itself recommends taking it _as a prophylaxis_ when heading to the areas where malaria might be present: https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/drugs.html https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/drugs.html

tptacek 7y ago
I think we can all intuitively see the distinction in risk tolerance between table salt consumption and HCQ consumption.
- m0zg 7y ago
  Now try to estimate the risk of _not_ consuming HCQ when you have C19 symptoms. Armchair virology and statistical studies are fun right up until the moment you get dry cough and shortness of breath.
  - tptacek 7y ago
    You mean, like, that I'll have an infarction because of Q-T disruption, probably won't do anything to ward off C19, and, if I'm dosing it "over the counter" "like candy", might not have even had C19 in the first place? Seems like I can distinguish the risks between that and table salt too.
- xienze 7y ago
  > I think we can all intuitively see the distinction in risk tolerance between table salt consumption and HCQ consumption. Good thing we have doctors that can decide the best course of treatment via HCQ then.
  - tptacek 7y ago
    I completely agree.
  - Fjolsvith 7y ago
    > Good thing we have doctors that can decide the best course of treatment via HCQ then. Except in New York.
    - Fjolsvith 7y ago
      Asked about the progress of the trials at his daily press briefing, Cuomo noted that state officials have allowed use of the drug hydroxychloroquine in combination with the antibiotic Zithromax in hospitals “at their discretion.” He said the federal government would increase supplies to New York pharmacies, but that New York has imposed a 14-day limit to protect the supplies for people who rely on it to treat other medical conditions. [1] It would suck to be one of the 200+ people dying daily [2] who didn't have a chance to try this combination to save their life because of a 14 day limit. 1. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/491358-cuomo-use-of-antimalarial-drug-in-new-york-hospitals-anecdotally https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/491358-cuomo-use-of... 2. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22805612 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22805612 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22787800 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22787800
threeseed 7y ago
This drug is not administered to everyone though. It's only been tested and verified for people with I believe lupus and malaria. So we don't know the implications of rolling it out to millions of people worldwide. That's why you do clinical trials.
- xienze 7y ago
  > So we don't know the implications of rolling it out to millions of people worldwide. It’s 70+ years old. It’s a well-understood drug. It’s an experimental treatment, not an experimental medicine. It’s also frequently prescribed to grandmas with rheumatoid arthritis.
  - threeseed 7y ago
    > It’s a well-understood drug For treating the issues it was designed for. Not for treating COVID-19.
    - xienze 7y ago
      You could technically say that about Tylenol, but I doubt there’d be anyone jumping up and down about how dangerous it would be for a Covid 19 patient to take 500mg of it daily as part of a treatment regimen. There’s literally NO drugs approved specifically for Covid 19, but there are drugs, like HCQ, which are promising and well-understood in general.
      - kevingadd 7y ago
        Tylenol is an odd choice of example here given that it poses a risk of liver damage and for some subsets of the population it's actively dangerous to take it. We literally lace some drugs with Tylenol to make them "abuse-deterrent" because we know taking too much of it would harm you.
        Fjolsvith 7y ago
        500mg of Tylenol daily poses a risk of liver damage?

by m0zg 7y ago

tptacek 7y ago

I think we can all intuitively see the distinction in risk tolerance between table salt consumption and HCQ consumption.

m0zg 7y ago
Now try to estimate the risk of _not_ consuming HCQ when you have C19 symptoms. Armchair virology and statistical studies are fun right up until the moment you get dry cough and shortness of breath.
- tptacek 7y ago
  You mean, like, that I'll have an infarction because of Q-T disruption, probably won't do anything to ward off C19, and, if I'm dosing it "over the counter" "like candy", might not have even had C19 in the first place? Seems like I can distinguish the risks between that and table salt too.
xienze 7y ago
> I think we can all intuitively see the distinction in risk tolerance between table salt consumption and HCQ consumption. Good thing we have doctors that can decide the best course of treatment via HCQ then.
- tptacek 7y ago
  I completely agree.
- Fjolsvith 7y ago
  > Good thing we have doctors that can decide the best course of treatment via HCQ then. Except in New York.
  - Fjolsvith 7y ago
    Asked about the progress of the trials at his daily press briefing, Cuomo noted that state officials have allowed use of the drug hydroxychloroquine in combination with the antibiotic Zithromax in hospitals “at their discretion.” He said the federal government would increase supplies to New York pharmacies, but that New York has imposed a 14-day limit to protect the supplies for people who rely on it to treat other medical conditions. [1] It would suck to be one of the 200+ people dying daily [2] who didn't have a chance to try this combination to save their life because of a 14 day limit. 1. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/491358-cuomo-use-of-antimalarial-drug-in-new-york-hospitals-anecdotally https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/491358-cuomo-use-of... 2. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22805612 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22805612 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22787800 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22787800

threeseed 7y ago

This drug is not administered to everyone though. It's only been tested and verified for people with I believe lupus and malaria. So we don't know the implications of rolling it out to millions of people worldwide. That's why you do clinical trials.

xienze 7y ago
> So we don't know the implications of rolling it out to millions of people worldwide. It’s 70+ years old. It’s a well-understood drug. It’s an experimental treatment, not an experimental medicine. It’s also frequently prescribed to grandmas with rheumatoid arthritis.
- threeseed 7y ago
  > It’s a well-understood drug For treating the issues it was designed for. Not for treating COVID-19.
  - xienze 7y ago
    You could technically say that about Tylenol, but I doubt there’d be anyone jumping up and down about how dangerous it would be for a Covid 19 patient to take 500mg of it daily as part of a treatment regimen. There’s literally NO drugs approved specifically for Covid 19, but there are drugs, like HCQ, which are promising and well-understood in general.
    - kevingadd 7y ago
      Tylenol is an odd choice of example here given that it poses a risk of liver damage and for some subsets of the population it's actively dangerous to take it. We literally lace some drugs with Tylenol to make them "abuse-deterrent" because we know taking too much of it would harm you.
      - Fjolsvith 7y ago
        500mg of Tylenol daily poses a risk of liver damage?