Health experts warn against trying to buy dexamethasone online. Dexamethasone is a steroid that’s been shown to slash the death rate of seriously ill coronavirus patients.

British researchers, in a recent study, said that the drug reduced the death rate by one-third of patients hospitalized and hooked up to ventilators. When the news was announced, Google searches in the U.S. relating to dexamethasone soared.

According to Newsweek, people are searching for ways to buy the prescription-only drug online. Experts told Newsweek that trying to procure it over the internet is dangerous. Duncan Young, a professor at Oxford University in England, who was not part of the dexamethasone study, warned:

“Individuals may be able to obtain stocks from the internet (likely the tablets rather than the injection drug) but as with all illegally-procured drugs the quality will be unknown.”

He added the dexamethasone has not been shown to prevent COVID-19 and said he doubted that it could, adding that dexamethasone does have potentially serious side effects such a psychosis, increased risk of infections, and ulcers.

Other experts also warned that the powerful steroid used as an anti-inflammatory drug to treat asthma, allergies and other conditions, may actually have the opposite effect of healing, making people more susceptible to infection and early disease worse.

Newsweek asked the experts if there are concerns that the public will try and obtain dexamethasone by under-the-counter methods.

“We have seen that the public can do some crazy things in this pandemic, sometimes influenced by ignorant people so, yes, it’s possible, but we hope people would be more sensible,” said Stephen Evans, professor of medicine and pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “Steroids have many side effects and using them where there is no benefit is foolish. It is for use by doctors in hospital for very sick patients, not for those in the community and definitely not for prevention.”

According to Ivanhoe, a study by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy found that 95 percent of websites selling drugs online are doing so illegally. Experts warned that if the online pharmacy does not require a prescription for dexamethasone, it may not be legitimate. Potential buyers of any online drug should verify that the website has been around for a while, and that the drugs they sell have been approved by the U.S, Food and Drug Administration.

“Consumers who buy prescription drugs online are not only putting their health at risk, but also risk felony charges. “Buying drugs without a prescription or using a prescription from an illegitimate cyber doctor, where there is not an in-person doctor-patient interaction, is not considered legitimate under the law,” according to Ivanhoe.