It's been a busy month at the Texas Poison Center.
There's been a spike in phone calls because of people using ivermectin to treat COVID-19.
This year the poison hotline has received 150 calls about the anti-parasite drug. That's a 552% increase over the 23 calls it got last year from January to August, WFAA reported.
The human version of ivermectin can be used to treat rosacea or head lice, the livestock version of the drug has been flying off the shelves at feed stores around the country.
“Not for human consumption. It says it on the bottle. It’s for deworming cattle, deworming horses," Matt Meredith, who works at the 731 Farm Store in Burleson, told the Dallas TV station.
People are more likely to fall ill from taking the livestock version of the drug because it's more concentrated since its meant for large animals.
“They ask for ivermectin or iver-medicine or whatever the case may be. This is for livestock. I mean, one tube will treat a 1,250 (pound) horse," said Meredith.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently warned people against taking ivermectin because of the increase in calls to poison control centers around the country.
Mild symptoms of ivermectin poisoning are rash, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, while more serious symptoms are seizures and and neurological disorders.