Can fasting help you prevent the virus? Unraveling 10 unscientific tips during the Covid-19 epidemic
The new corona virus that causes the Covid-19 epidemic is spreading rapidly around the world. As of March 7, 2020, more than 3,200 people have died from Covid-19 and 95,000 people have been infected in 76 countries and territories.
The virus has appeared in all continents, except for the frozen Antarctica, the epidemic situation is very hot worldwide. Currently, the most promising drugs and vaccines for Covid-19 are still in the testing process.
However, it is an opportunity for those who spread false rumors. Some people think that being a vegetarian can help you prevent disease, because the Covid-19 virus was spread from an animal market in Wuhan.
Vitamin C, red algae, garlic and coconut oil... there's a lot of advice on social media that they can help you prevent and treat Covid-19. But as it turns out, nothing is real. Here are the 10 most unscientific rumors that you need to be wary of during the Covid-19 epidemic:
1. The first important thing to know is that you should not self-treat Covid-19 at home with antibiotics. Covid-19 is a disease caused by a virus, which antibiotics cannot kill.
Antibiotics are only used in the Covid-19 treatment regimen at the hospital, when doctors detect a secondary infection is occurring in the patient's body. In fact, most Covid-19 infections only show mild symptoms, taking antibiotics will not bring any effect.
Scientists are currently testing a number of antiviral drugs to treat Covid-19, but the earliest trials will not have results until April.
2. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is believed to have originated from animals. But there is no evidence that you should be vegetarian to prevent Covid-19.
When scientists announced that the corona virus may have originated in a seafood market selling live animals in Wuhan, China, PETA, an animal rights organization, resorted to it to encouraged people to be vegetarian, saying that eating meat is harmful to human health.
"From deadly viruses to wildfires to the climate crisis, eating animals can have apocalyptic consequences," the PETA website reads.
However, the truth is that being a vegetarian will not help you prevent Covid-19. Dr. Ashish K. Jha, director of the Harvard Institute for Global Health, said that food is not the mechanism for the spread of this disease. Reheating or cooking food kills all the viruses in it.
Covid-12 is transmitted mainly through droplets from the respiratory tract of an infected person, when you come into close contact with them or accidentally infect droplets on surfaces.
So going to a crowded buffet would not be a good idea at this point, regardless of whether you're a vegetarian or a meat eater.
3. Viruses cannot live outside the human body for too long. It is safe to receive goods or mail delivered from epidemic areas.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in China, many people have speculated that receiving packaged goods from this country can cause people to accidentally contract the virus on the surface of envelopes or boxes. However, the World Health Organization considers that to be impossible.
"Consumers receiving packages are not at risk of contracting the novel coronavirus," the WHO stated. "From our experience with other strains of corona virus, we know that this virus cannot survive for long on some objects, such as letters or packages."
In case you are still worried that the virus may still be on the surface of your package, decontaminate it by wiping or spraying with disinfectant. And wash your hands after unpacking.
4. Covid-19 is not seasonal flu. It is more dangerous and there is no vaccine yet
Although the symptoms of Covid-19 usually start out like you have the flu. The patient will have a fever and a dry cough. 80% of the patients showed only mild symptoms and recovered well. However, Covid-19 is still considered more dangerous than the common cold.
The mortality rate of this new disease is 3.4%. In comparison, the annual mortality rate from seasonal flu is only about 0.1%.
Covid-19 is especially dangerous for the elderly and those with weakened immune systems because of pre-existing conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. A study by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that people with cardiovascular disease with Covid-19 had a mortality rate of up to 10.5%.
The mortality rate from Covid-19 also varies by age group. In patients over 80 years old the figure was 14.8%, in 70-79 year olds it was 8.0%, the number decreased in 60-69 year old group to 3.6%, 50-59 year old was 1, 3%, 40-49 years old is 0.4%, 10-39 years old is 0.2%, but there are no deaths reported in children under 10 years old.
Although biotech companies are engaged in a race to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, the most potential candidates may take a year of testing to appear on the market. .
The World Health Organization says you can't get the seasonal flu vaccine to prevent Covid-19, but the vaccine will still be good for you. At least you won't catch the flu and don't have to worry about your symptoms.
5. Don't drink the so-called "miracle mineral solution" MMS. It is essentially diluted bleach.
A number of alternative therapy groups and communities in the US are selling what they call "miracle mineral solution" - MMS for short, which claims it will prevent and cure inflammation. lungs caused by corona virus.
In the past, this group has also claimed that its solution can cure all diseases, including autism or HIV/AIDS. However, the US Food and Drug Administration said the solution was actually 28% sodium chloride mixed in distilled water.
It's a bleach and when ingested can cause harm to your body, including vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, and acute liver failure.
6. Similarly, algae is not a cure for Covid-19.
Gabriel Cousens, a famous therapist in the US, told his followers in an email that they should eat red algae to prevent and treat the new corona virus.
Although there is some evidence that red seaweed can inactivate some strains of viruses, such as the herpes virus that causes blisters on the skin. However, there is no evidence that it works against the new corona virus.
"The problem is that there are about 4,000 species of red seaweed, only some of which can fight some viral diseases and not others," the McGill Office for Science and Society wrote in a statement. responded to Gabriel Cousens' advice and called it "bullshit content".
7. And neither garlic nor sesame oil, they have no effect on corona virus.
It is true that garlic contains organosulfur compounds that can help keep our hearts, brains and intestines running smoothly, and may even help prevent or fight cancer.
The World Health Organization also says garlic "may have some antibacterial properties," but there's no reason to believe it can ward off coronavirus. And so does sesame oil (either taken orally or applied topically), it won't kill or repel the virus.
8. Coconut oil and vitamin C are also among other false recommendations.
A health official in the Philippines recently suggested that coconut oil could be "considered" as a means to kill the new coronavirus. But the truth is that there is no scientific evidence to support that hypothesis.
There are some studies in mice that show that coconut oil can - just maybe - help kill the bacteria that cause Staphylococcus (or staph) infections. But the corona virus is not a bacteria, and it is not even a staph.
Meanwhile on Facebook, a personal page with nearly 50,000 followers of Andew Saul - a man who calls himself a vitamin superman - has spread a message that doctors in China are treating patients with Covid-19 by infusing high doses of vitamin C into their veins.
In fact, that is not the case in China. Nor is there any evidence that vitamin C works against Covid-19. Even with the common cold, taking vitamin C won't help you get better. It was only slightly more effective than a placebo.
9. Masks don't really help much, unless you wear them right and at the right time.
Masks seem to be selling out worldwide, but that's because of the psychological effect rather than people's awareness of the real preventive effects of masks.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no evidence that medical masks can help a healthy person protect themselves against the new corona virus. That's because medical masks cannot filter the virus.
WHO recommends that only certain people should wear masks. The first is those who are having symptoms of cough, fever, difficulty breathing. These people should wear masks as a precaution for others around them.
The second subject is normal healthy people who are in the same room as a person suspected or infected with the new corona virus. It can be understood that it is doctors and family members who take care of people with suspected symptoms.
The mask in this case is used to cover the respiratory tract, helping to reduce the risk of droplets caught from the patient's respiratory tract getting into your nose and mouth. In addition, when you are indoors alone or keep a safe distance from others in public, wearing a mask is not necessary.
Sherlita Amler, an associate professor of public health at New York University School of Medicine, said the problem with the mask craze is that people are panicking and don't know what else to do.
"They're just trying to do whatever they can to keep themselves from getting sick," she said.
10. Practice good isolation and hand hygiene measures
In fact, to prevent corona virus, Dr Amler said people should strictly follow the recommendations of the World Health Organization.
"If you're sick, or have a member of your family that's sick, stay home, don't [go out] to spread and spread those illnesses," she said. "That's basically what they did in China, they locked down and quarantined everyone."
Also, wash your hands often with soap and water.
"If I could teach the public one thing to prevent most of the illnesses I have to deal with, it would be to wash your hands and teach your children how to wash their hands," adds Dr Amler.
"Believe it or not, most people don't know how they should wash their hands. And in fact, I think some people even try to get their hands on something that doesn't get wet."
Dr. Amler says it's important that you rub and rub soap all over your hands, including the fingers, fingernails and between the fingers. "The frictional movement of your hands is what helps you get germs out of your hands," she says.
Hand sanitizers are useful in case you are outside and do not have soap or water. But remember, there's nothing better than scrubbing your hands for 20 seconds with soap, then rinsing with water and drying with a paper towel.
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Không phải uống vitamin C, ăn các loại thực phẩm này mới là cách tốt nhất để tăng cường hệ miễn dịch