11 popular tips that won't save you from coronavirus

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Why you shouldn't drink high doses of vitamin C, breathe in essential oils and search for a vaccine on the Internet.

WHO recommends washing your hands thoroughly or regularly treating them with a sanitizer, wear a medical mask, have less contact with others, ventilate the room, drink enough fluids, and lead a healthy lifestyle. And this is justified.

But there are many other recommendations on the Internet that have nothing to do with evidence-based medicine. You shouldn't follow them. Otherwise, you can harm the body or lose money.

1. Drink shock doses of vitamin C

As research shows Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold., taking vitamin C supplements does not reduce the risk of contracting ARVI, which includes COVID-19, and does not alleviate the course of illness.

And shock doses of vitamin C, which are recommended by some "doctors" in social networks, are completely dangerous. Is it possible to take too much vitamin C per day? take no more than 2,000 mg of ascorbic acid. Exceeding this dose can lead to indigestion (nausea, diarrhea, vomiting), headaches, and even the formation of Safety of vitamin C kidney stones.

2. Take zinc supplements

Since the end of winter, an email has been circulating on the Web that the American virologist James Robb sent to his loved ones. The doctor lists the basic hygiene rules that reduce the risk of infection, and also recommends taking lozenges (lozenges) with zinc. According to the letter, they are capable of blocking the multiplication of viruses, including Wuhan, in the throat and nasopharynx.

Virologist James Robb exists and works in the Department of Pathology at the University of California. And he actually sent such a message. But, in his own words, Did a Noted Pathologist Write This Viral Coronavirus Advice Letter?, did not expect that the text would be read by someone else besides the family. Therefore, it was incorrect in expressions.

In my experience as a virologist, zinc supplementation suppresses the multiplication of many viruses, including coronaviruses. I expect that in the case of COVID-19, this might also work. But I do not have unequivocal experimental evidence to confirm this.

James Robb Zinc Health Viral Writer (Snopes interview)

In general, zinc supplements are not useless. They will not reduce the risk of contracting the coronavirus. But, according to some reports, Can Zinc Lozenges Ward Off Coronavirus? What Doctors Say can shorten the duration of SARS. In this regard, zinc is effective if taken in the first 24 hours after the onset of symptoms and in an amount of at least 75 mg (we are talking about the so-called elemental, or pure, zinc; the dosage is indicated on the package of dietary supplements).

But there is danger here. If you overdo it and take more than 150 mg of elemental zinc per day, the trace mineral will become toxic Zinc. Poisoning can make itself felt with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache. There are also more serious consequences - including a decrease in immunity. This will make you more vulnerable to COVID-19.

3. Drink vodka, chacha and other strong drinks

Another Internet myth that became popular after a screen of a letter with the logo of St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City (USA) was spread on Facebook. A piece of paper, similar to the official one, reported that drinking hard liquor, especially vodka, could protect against coronavirus.

Of course, the "document" turned out to be a fake FALSE: Alcoholic drinks ‘reduce coronavirus risk’: St. Luke's hospital denied any involvement in this message.

Hope for alcohol in the fight against COVID-19 is not recommended by WHO. “Alcohol should only be drunk in moderation. People who do not drink should not start trying to prevent infection,”says Does Drinking Alcohol Prevent The New Coronavirus? organization on your Facebook page.

4. Use vodka to disinfect hands and surfaces

Ethyl alcohol, which is the basis of vodka, is indeed capable of destroying the coronavirus. As, however, and any other viruses that have a shell: alcohol simply destroys its lipid (fat) layer.

But there is an important clarification: only solutions with an alcohol concentration of at least 60% can effectively fight viruses. Epidemiologic Background of Hand Hygiene and Evaluation of the Most Important Agents for Scrubs and Rubs. The strength of vodka is 40%. Therefore, it makes sense to use it for disinfection only as a last resort, when there is no soap and water or a more effective antiseptic.

5. Gargle

On the Internet, they suggest using salt water, alcohol, vinegar, bleach … But, according to doctors, Coronavirus Disease 2019: Myth vs. Fact, none of this will help.

Gargling will not protect you from COVID-19. As, however, and from other respiratory infections.

Moreover: carried away by gargles, especially those containing alcohol and acids, you can burn the mucous membrane of the throat and nasopharynx.

6. Breathe propolis and essential oils

So, in one video, it is advised to wear a medical mask, inside which a pad moistened with propolis is glued. Unfortunately, this recommendation has nothing to do with evidence-based medicine. And it certainly won't save Coronavirus Disease 2019: Myth vs. Fact you from the coronavirus.

The popularity of such untested methods is so great that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission even issued a warning letter Coronavirus Update: FDA and FTC Warn Seven Companies Selling Fraudulent Products that Claim to Treat or Prevent COVID-19 to sellers who claim essential oils to treat or prevent COVID-19.

Relying on the healing power of the same propolis, an infected person can ignore the symptoms of the disease and delay seeking medical attention. And as a result, it will launch the disease to a state that really threatens life.

7. Drink hot water

This pseudoscientific recommendation is based on two things:

1. Allegedly, the coronavirus dies at a temperature of 27 ° C. Therefore, if it settles in the throat, you need to drink something warm.
2. When you drink, water dumps the virus into your stomach. And there the infection is destroyed by stomach acid.

But if the coronavirus died at 27 ° C, it simply could not survive in a human body, whose temperature is 36.6 ° C. And in general, it is not yet known at what temperature SARS ‑ CoV ‑ 2 is destroyed. Its closest relative SARS ‑ CoV, which causes SARS, died when heated to 56 ° C for 15 minutes.

The second point is also wrong. Coronavirus is a respiratory virus that infects the respiratory tract. Therefore, its symptoms are similar to ARVI. It is physically impossible to flush the virus out of the respiratory tract (for example, nasal sinuses or nasopharynx) by swallowing water.

8. Frequently rinse the nose with saline (saline) solution

There is not a single piece of evidence from Novel Coronavirus 2019: Myth Busters that regular nasal rinsing protects against coronavirus.

But it can alleviate the condition and speed up recovery in case of common ARVI, not complicated by bronchitis or pneumonia.

9. There is a lot of garlic

Garlic is a healthy product. But there is no confirmation that it protects against coronavirus Novel Coronavirus 2019: Myth Busters. But there is a risk of overdoing it.

British news source BBC News Coronavirus: The fake health advice you should ignore, citing the South China Morning Post, cites the story of a woman who had to treat a sore throat after eating 1.5 kg of raw garlic.

10. Hope for breathing practices

Breathing exercises strengthen your lungs and help you relax and relieve stress. They are also sometimes prescribed during the recovery phase from Recovering from pneumonia or to people who suffer from asthma or other chronic lung diseases.

However, there is no scientific evidence that breathing practices could prevent ARVI - including caused by the Wuhan coronavirus COVID-19.

11. Buying a vaccine against coronavirus

And it really is already being sold: on Avito and local trading floors, no, no, and a similar announcement will slip through. Naturally, there are scammers behind him who want to take advantage of people's confusion and fear of the epidemic.

Remember a simple thing. There is no vaccine or “magic pill” for COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus 2019: Myth Busters.

Perhaps such drugs will be created. Thousands of scientists around the world are working on this, and only in Сlinicaltrials (this is an American database of private and public clinical trials conducted around the world) over 100 COVID-19 clinical trials related to the SARS ‑ CoV ‑ 2 coronavirus have been registered. And maybe it will happen quickly.

But between the creation of a vaccine and the start of its use, there will be months during which the drug will be tested first in animals and then in humans. Only after studies have established the efficacy and safety of the drug, it will be certified and marketed. This information will surely be in the news - you definitely won't miss it.

Until then, consider all the ads that lure you with a medicine for the coronavirus as a scam.

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