So today, this article won't be lengthy as usual but we will mainly focus on correcting some myths about covid-19 that has been making rounds over some months now.
Some some days now, I have been hearing and receiving some ridiculous advice people having been giving to their fellow humans without proper facts from right health regulatory bodies. In this part of the world, most times rumours tend to thrive beyond fact.
I could remember vividly when Ebola virus was the talk of town. We started hearing and receiving a lot of fake advices from spreading through several social media. WhatsApp became the most widely used media to spread false rumour and if you would agree with me, this is one of the reason WhatsApp hard to restrict the option of forwarding messages to only 5 persons.
Funny enough some people out of ignorance believed this rumours and were practicing some things like using salt to bath because they were told it cures and prevents the ebola virus😆. I practically laugh each time I remember some of my colleagues in same medical line who were learned enough to understand that such practice is not true, yet they did it ..lol.
If they could do it out of fear, what then is the fate of the masses. People will likely and most timesbeleive what they hear especially coming from medical personal
I was not surprised when I started hearing some funny practices people have engaged themselves in, just because of the phobia that comes with the coronavirus. I for sure knew that with the advent of this pandemic it will definitely come with its own myths and fake rumors.
So reading this article will give you a hint and proper guidance about some rumours that has been making ground and why you need to ignore them because some of them are not true. All information here are from regulatory bodies and references to back them up are all found in the reference section of this article.
Ignorance is a disease that is plaguing we humans and the earlier we trash it out and be well informed the better for us. Science is based on fact any other thing is fallacy. We must not do things because others are doing it and as a result jeopardize our health. Let's take a look at some of this myths shall we.
🚨Taking bath with hot water cures coronavirus
This is totally false and not true. Be it hot water or cold water it does not in any way kills the virus especially if you are infected already. It is true that Corona virus is susceptible to heat but does not mean that bathing with hot water cures you of the virus.
If you feel like bathing with hot water during cold days that is fine but not compulsorily bathing with hot water just because you want to cure coronavirus or prevent it.
🚨Older people are the ones usually infected
Well it depends on how you put it. The statement is relative. Older people could be said to be susceptible to Corona virus just because of their state of health and if you would agree with me, as we age, our immunity falls; the reason why older people are more prone or likely to fall ill.
But this does not mean that coronavirus cannot affect any age bracket. Anybody can be affected take note. Prevention is better than cure
🚨Regions with hot temperature are not affected
Well it is obvious that this is false because the novel virus spread like a wild wind irrespective of the temperature of the region. Typical example is Africa and to be specific Nigeria. Before now many we are of the opinion that coronavirus is not in Nigeria and cannot survive here. I once saw a pastor preaching to his congregation and making declarative statement that
"coronavirus is not in Nigeria, what we have is corrosive anointing in place here"
You can laugh it out. I began to wonder, what is wrong with some of our religious leaders. Some even gave their members a so-called blood of Jesus that can cure coronavirus. Whaaaat!😵
The rate of increase in Nigeria is becoming alarming especially in Lagos and Abuja. Let's get it right now it does not matter the country. So even if you like stay under this sun for 10 hours cooking yourself, lol. It does not have any effect on the virus once inside you. You are only causing more harm to yourself. Prevention the best way out.
Let's not easily believe what we hear. Always seek for facts from the right sources. sometimes. The religious leader preaching to you is not knowledgeable enough more than the medical professional when it relates to matters concerning your health. Let us call a spade a spade. When they preach the wrong thing, they need to be corrected, they are not gods.
🚨Taking antibiotics cures Corona virus
This is totally false and not true. The mechanism of action of antibiotics is totally different from antiretroviral drugs. Antibiotics are only used to treat bacterial infections and they are never effective against viral diseases. Coronavirus is a viral not a bacterial disease.
🚨Taking chloroquine prevents or cures coronavirus
Not too long ago there were too many cases of reported chloroquine intoxication after the news went viral that chloroquine can be used to cure coronavirus.
Hydroxychloroquine is a potential dangerous drugs that could be toxic to the body system. They are still under critical investigation for treatment but not used to prevent the disease.
This still does not mean you should go about buying the drugs or bd on self medication which is very dangerous. if you feel the symptoms of the disease contact the regulatory body in your region or state rather than treating yourself. Currently there is no recommended or certified drug of chiice for cure of coronavirus.
🚨Using expensive antibiotics soaps and spraying bleach prevents the virus.
This is not true you don't have to go as far as buying expensive soaps. Any soap at all can kill the virus. As long as it is able to removes dirts and forms lather on usage, you are good to go. You don't have to spend so much in a bid to keep yourself clean.
Any soap at all can solve, so save that money for expensive soaps. Possibly use it to buy more sanitizers and face masks if need be.
You will only be doing more harm to yourself by spraying bleach on your body, this is very dangerous. Never try it.
🚨Coronavirus affects some religion only.
This is just so ridiculous. Whether you are a Christian in Muslim or whatever religion you belong to coronavirus does not care. It does not respect any God or gods. It can affect anyone without exception.
🚨Drinking and gargling with hot water cures coronavirus.
Well it is true that drinking warm water can bring some soooting effect to the throat due to the sore throat associated with coronavirus but it does not have direct effect on the Corona virus.
Once you are infected you are infected, the Only way out is treatment as soon as possible. There's no point loading your system with hot water, you will only end up increasing your body temperature unnecessarily and causing more harm to yourself. Kindly seek medical attention.
🚨Taking extra amount of vitamin C cures corona virus.
It is true that vitamin C helps to boost the immune system so that it can fight off the virus, but still this does not mean you should take an overdose of vitamin C. Taking overdose can lead to complications. Take normal dosage as required, for adults 95 mg per day.
Vitamin C only helps to boost the immune system to combat the virus but does not cure it. There's a huge difference between supportive treatment and permanent cure.
🚨Taking some special oil and eating garlic or ginger kills the virus.
It is well known that some of these plants like ginger or garlic have great health benefits and therapeutic effects. But no research has shown that they are effective in curing coronavirus hence, it is not true.
Some of these plants are medicinal and when you take them too much they could become problem to you. Don't add excessive pepper, ginger or garlic in your food just because you want to kill coronavirus, it does not work
I once saw a video that went viral on WhatsApp. A woman claiming that some plants she conjured could cure Corona virus.
We fail to understand that many plants contains some dangerous phytochemical constituents like flavonoids, tannin, alkaloids, phenols, etc that could be potentially dangerous when they are taken in high amounts. This is why it is not always advisable to pick up any plant and claim it is medicinal without proper research on its dosage.
🚨Most people don't recover from coronavirus.
I believe this is glaring and untrue as we seen and have recorded many cases of people that have fully recovered from covid-19 infection as a result of supportive care and treatment.
But this still does not mean we should not pay attention to prevention methods and hygiene practices. Eat healthy to keep the system strong and able to stand any opportunistic infection.
🚨Drinking alcohol prevents coronavirus
This is so so so not true and it totally false. Alcohol does not many will prevent you from the virus nor does it cure the virus. You can be intoxicated with alcohol and this will ultimately damage liver cells.
Remember excessive intake of alcohol causes accumulation of toxic metabolites in the body system. It increases acetaldehyde accumulation that leads to the hangover and headache you experience after excessive consumption.
🚨Covid-19 transmitted through flies
Till date, there is no known fly as vector for the transmission of this virus to humans. Be it mosquito, housefly, tse tse fly, there is no documented facts to prove that flies could transmit Corona virus. Don't be scared for nothing.
I only wonder what would have been our faith if mosquitoes could transmit this virus. I leave you to ponder on that.
🚨5G network transmit Covid-19
Lol... This is just so laughable the first day I heard it. What has coronavirus in biological organism got to do with a network. There is no correlation at all. Coronavirus cannot be transmitted through 5G network. In fact, there is no known virus that travels through radio waves signals.
🚨Face masks and carbondioxide intoxication
Face mask is intended to be worn mostly by healthcare workers. It is only expected to be used when necessary. Face mask when used properly will not cause carbon dioxide location as long as it is well fitted and appropriately worn in such a way that it allows you to breathe properly.
This is quite different from when worn in such a way that you are unable to breathe properly for a very long time. Please get the difference. As much as possible use face mask only when necessary.
🚨No more reinfection after recovering from previous infection
This is not true. You can be reinfected by the virus if you do not heed to proper hygiene practice and prevention methods.
🚨Do recovered people pose threat
Those who have recovered from the coronavirus infection do not post any threat to society. Let us stop the stigmatization and always remember that coronavirus infection is not a death sentence.
For more and detailed explanation on the other myths, visit the reference section of this article below to learn more. This is a summarized and concise explanation to the false rumours about Covid-19.
Spread the truth and not the false information.
References
¶Advise for the public, myths busters- WHO
¶Coronavirus questions and answers- CNN
¶Advise for the public, Covid-19-WHO
¶Covid-19 daily life coping facts- CDC
¶Covid-19 update cases
¶Myths about Covid-19
¶Coronavirus indepth Myths