I never thought I would see floxing in the tenuous political climate of 2016.

I normally stay away from political commentary unless it is directly related to the fluoroquinolone (FQ) travesty.  My FQ advocacy is colorblind, neither leaning red nor blue as both share equal blame in the political failings behind the FDA and other issues which help contribute to the danger FQ’s pose to the general public.

hillary2Imagine my surprise when I learned that high profile Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton was prescribed 10 days of Levaquin by her doctor for a case of pneumonia (1).  Once I heard this, her recent media reported, supposedly innocuous, medical events seem more understandable.

Now, I do not claim to be a medical authority by any means.  Nor do I claim to know the nuances of Hillary Clinton’s medical conditions.  But what I do know is that this presents us with a teachable and attention getting moment in the troubled history of the FQs.

As an amateur, personally educated in the horrors of FQ toxicity and its terrible aftermath, I see FQ connection written all over Hillary Clinton’s health issues, or at the very least, a compounding factor.

So my main question is “Has Hillary been floxed already?”  Although I do not put a tremendous amount of stock in main stream press reports, as an arm chair quarterback, some of her symptoms could easily fall into the realm of floxing.

The Daily Caller interviewed long time FQ safety advocate and researcher Dr. Charles Bennett.  Dr. Bennett said “It’s important to note that the event that occurred on Bennett-flashSunday could potentially be an adverse reaction with this drug.”  Dr. Charles Bennett, oncologist and Endowed Chair in Medication Safety and Efficacy at the University of South Carolina..

“You don’t know why that event occurred, but it definitely was not normal,” Bennett added.

Levaquin’s side effects include “confusion,” an inability to walk, weakness and a lack of coordination, Bennett said. Those side effects can be permanent — even when taken as briefly as two days, Bennett continued (2).

Is Hillary’s doctor aware of the FQ contradictions?  You would suspect that a presidential candidate would get top-notch medical care.   And because of that, doctors at that level would be fully aware of the dangers of a FQ for someone such as Hillary.  However, I know the opposite to be true.  On average, most physicians, their status or facility connection not withstanding, woefully under- appreciate the penchant FQ’s have for permanent long lasting adverse events, especially in the geriatric population.

Hillary’s age puts her in the senior citizen realm.  This increases certain risk factors for age related FQ adverse events.  Again, I do not know her medical history, but given the risk/reward ratio presented by the FQ’s and her age, in addition to a possible complex medical history, I would definitely consider Levaquin a high risk gamble that could set her up for long term health problems.  Problems, I might add, that would more than likely be blamed on age related conditions as opposed to floxing. However her recent collapse, although contributed to feeling poorly because of the pneumonia, could easily fall with the realm of a Levaquin adverse event.

One can only speculate; has Hillary joined the ranks of floxies?  If so will she be one of the unfortunate ones who puts 100% faith in the medical establishment and never make the connection?

On a more positive note, this is a good high profile opportunity for us to continue to warn the general public, family and friends about the dangers of FQ’s.

However, if she has been floxed, she has a long hard road ahead of her.  A road that, I would imagine, would make holding the office of President of the United States an impossible task.

Time will only tell!

Share