Garlic and silver: fake coronavirus drugs that don't help

Together with the coronavirus, not only panic spreads on the planet, but also a variety of tips on how to protect yourself from it. These tips are not always given by qualified specialists, and their benefits are often zero. Writes about it with the BBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

1. Garlic

Many social media users recommend eating garlic to prevent infection. World Health Organization (WHO) approves garlic as a healthy food that has some antimicrobial properties, but there is no evidence that it protects against the new coronavirus.

Garlic itself is not dangerous - as long as people who use it for treatment follow the recommendations of doctors.

But if someone begins to prefer this or other “folk” methods of prevention over all others and neglect the advice of qualified specialists, this can be dangerous to health. Vegetables and fruits are good for health, but are of no use in preventing infection with this new virus.

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Eating garlic in large quantities in itself can cause problems. The South China Morning Post, for example, reported a woman who went to the hospital with a sore throat after eating half a kilogram of garlic.

2. “Magic Supplements”

Popular YouTube blogger Jordan Sather claims that the “mineral miracle supplement” (MMS - “miracle mineral supplement”) saves against coronavirus.

This additive contains chlorine dioxide. Sather, like some other influencers, advertised the “miracle remedy” even before the outbreak of the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Back in January, he tweeted: “Chlorine dioxide (MMS) is effective in killing cancer cells, but it will also help avoid infection with coronavirus.”

In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already warned that the safety and effectiveness of chlorine dioxide has not been proven by studies and that its use can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration. Other countries have also joined the FDA.

3. Homemade hand gel

People around the world are buying up hand sanitizers. In many stores, the supply of disinfectant gel has run out these days, and instructions on how to make the gel yourself are gaining popularity on the Internet.

However, some of these homemade gels are not suitable for human skin. Conventional hand gels, which are now being sold in stores, usually contain not only alcohol (60-70%), but also emollients, which not everyone has on hand.

Sometimes in these recipes they suggest using alcoholic beverages, but even in the strongest of them, the alcohol content rarely exceeds 60%.

4. Colloidal silver

Colloidal silver called for the use of one of the guests of the television show Jim Baker, an American television preacher, to protect against coronavirus. A liquid in which the smallest particles of silver are dissolved, in his opinion, kills some varieties of coronaviruses within 12 hours. True, he admitted that he has no information on Covid-19 yet.

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The news that liquid silver can be effective in combating coronavirus has scattered across social networks, especially in communities that are skeptical of traditional medicine.

Proponents of this remedy believe that it can treat various diseases and act as an antiseptic, and also strengthens the immune system. However, US authorities warn that the beneficial properties of colloidal silver have not been proven. Moreover, its use can cause serious side effects, such as kidney problems, seizures and argyria - an irreversible change in skin color.

Doctors say that, unlike iron and zinc, silver does not perform any functions in the human body.

Facebook now accompanies some posts about the benefits of colloidal silver with a disclaimer stating that they contain inaccurate information.

5. Drink water every 15 minutes

A post has gone viral on Facebook quoting a “Japanese doctor” who recommends drinking water every 15 minutes to flush out the virus from your mouth.

Doctors are skeptical of this advice: the virus enters the body through the respiratory tract. But even if the virus gets into someone’s mouth, drinking water in this case will not help. Although generally drinking water is good.

6. Drink hot water, take hot baths and give up ice cream

No less widely circulated was a message attributed to Unicef ​​- that hot water helps to avoid coronavirus: you need to drink as much of it as possible, and also be in the sun more often, and then the coronavirus will supposedly not get you. There is also advice to take hot baths for the same purpose.

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Unicef's Charlotte Gornicka said: “Recently, false claims made on Unicef's behalf have circulated online suggesting that ice cream and other cold foods should be avoided and that doing so will help prevent the spread of coronavirus. This, of course, is a complete lie. We know that the influenza virus does not survive outside the human body during the summer, but we do not know what effect high temperatures have on the new coronavirus.

Heating your own body or sunbathing will not help save you from coronavirus, says Sally Bloomfield, professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. If the virus enters, only the body can cope with it.

In addition, an increase in temperature outside will not increase the temperature of the human body.

Read also on ForumDaily:

When the coronavirus vaccine appears: expert forecasts

Coronavirus and personal hygiene: 7 habits that are worth adopting from American children

Why everyone continues to wear masks, knowing that they do not protect against coronavirus

10 things you should wash your hands with after contact

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