### 252515946 loa loa are harmless until you take medicine > There’s a species of parasitic worm called *Loa loa*. Usually it hides from the immune system. But if you take ivermectin for some unrelated reason, the *loa loa* dies *en masse*, the immune system notices the corpses, it freaks out and massively overreacts, and sometimes your brain gets fried in the crossfire. If you get this, kudos - it’s one of the most esoteric ways to die, and any medical professionals in the vicinity will be impressed. But my point is, “this drug has no side effects” is a fraught statement. In principle ivermectin is perfectly safe; in practice, the world is full of weird stuff that can make harmless drugs kill you unexpectedly. - [View Highlight](https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/pascalian-medicine?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo4MDc2ODE1LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo0NDM3NTMyNCwiXyI6InpOWllYIiwiaWF0IjoxNjM3Nzc5MTIyLCJleHAiOjE2Mzc3ODI3MjIsImlzcyI6InB1Yi04OTEyMCIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.JzU-KlMnIrXWwwLdB593x_B9UXPnP-YuhKXUsCQFCBE&__readwiseLocation=2%2F15%2F0%2F3%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F1%2F2%2F0%2F1%3A7%2C8%2F15%2F0%2F3%2F0%2F0%2F0%2F1%2F2%2F0%2F1%3A481#:~:text=There%E2%80%99s%20a%20species%20of%20parasitic%2Charmless%20drugs%20kill%20you%20unexpectedly.) - [[Pascalian Medicine by Scott Alexander#252515946 loa loa are harmless until you take medicine|View in Vault]]