As the number of coronavirus infections keep growing, people are becoming desperate and trying to do anything in a bid to combat the virus. Social media, especially WhatsApp, is full of such "cure related" messages spreading fast and wide.
Here are five popular cures for coronavirus that have been declared fake by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
1) Garlic
Messages that eating garlic can prevent coronavirus are doing the rounds. But WHO says despite having antimicrobial properties, consuming garlic will not help combat coronavirus. There are no cases or proof that garlic can cure coronavirus or prevent one from getting infected by the virus.
2) Vaccines used against pneumonia
Coronavirus is new and different from other viruses. So vaccines like the pneumococcal vaccine and haemophilus influenza type B will not help cure or even save one from coronavirus. According to WHO, researchers are trying to develop a vaccine. However, when attacked by COVID-19, it is better to get vaccination against respiratory illness as an immediate but temporary solution.
3) Alcohol, chlorine
There was news that alcohol or chlorine can keep coronavirus away. It was said that spraying alcohol or chlorine over the body can kill the virus. Do not believe this. Instead, spraying it might prove dangerous for clothes or even the mucous membrane. Even though these substances are good for keeping surfaces clean, they should be used as prescribed.
4) Thermal scanners
It is claimed that thermal scanners can detect if someone is suffering from coronavirus. This is not true. However, thermal scanners can be used to find out if someone has fever. But as coronavirus takes at least 10 to 12 days to show symptoms including fever, thermal scanners cannot detect any virus before the body develops temperature. Do not depend on this to determine the virus attack. A negative result does not mean one does not have coronavirus.
5) Antibiotics
WHO says antibiotics do not work as a cure for coronavirus. Antibiotics help kill bacteria, but as COVD-19 is a virus, antibiotics will not be of any help. Doctors prescribe antibiotics to patients suffering from coronavirus merely to check bacterial co-infection which is a possibility.
