Oklahoma Poison and Drug Information warns not to use household products for coronavirus

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH)--The Oklahoma Center for Poison and Drug Information (OCPDI) issued a warning Wednesday to Oklahomans saying not to use medications or household products to treat the coronavirus without first talking with their healthcare provider.

In the warning they issued, they said that using medicines such as chloroquine or hydroxyclolroquine without a prescription and monitoring by the prescriber is risky.

The OCPDI said that most of the time, people infected with coronavirus will only require a treatment of their symptoms and self-isolation to ensure that they don't pass the virus to anybody else.

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are being studied as possible treatments for coronavirus, but the misuse of this medicine has already caused one death in the United States and multiple significant poisonings, the OCPDI said in their warning.

“We know people may try to find ways of preventing or treating COVID-19, but self-medicating with unprescribed medications or treatment with household products is dangerous,” said Scott Schaeffer, managing director of the Oklahoma Center for Poison and Drug Information. “

In addition, they say that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using household bleach solutions, alcohol solutions with at least 70 percent alcohol and common EPA-registered household disinfectants to disinfect surfaces.

The OCPDI has pharmacists and registered nurses at the Poison Center available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you can reach them at 800-222-1222.