SAN ANTONIO - There's a lot of concerns surrounding ways to treat and prevent Covid-19, and the latest drug has many doctors concerned.

Ivermectin, an anti-parasite medication, has filled headlines with people overdosing on the drug, hoping it will treat and prevent them from Covid.

Gregory Yu, an ER doctor at UT Health San Antonio, sees these problems firsthand. He addresses the confusion over the drug and explains why it's harmful to so many people.

"The livestock version is many, many times the adult dose," explained Dr. Yu. "When this is taken at higher than study levels – and even at these toxic levels – this can lead to severe diarrhea, severe dehydration and possibly even liver failure."

"Ivermectin does kill viruses in the lab, but this doesn’t always translate to humans. There was some earlier research many months ago and even last year that were poor quality – with a very small number of patients – that may have suggested some positive findings. But the most current evidence suggests that Ivermectin is not effective for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19,” said Yu.

"The number one thing we tell people to do is to treat the symptoms," Dr. Yu says.