Health misconceptions of the coronavirus
By Maddie Gadbaw ‘21
People are spreading the word about the safest things to do to prevent coronavirus. Schools, businesses, and other large group gatherings are being shut down to prevent the spread of the virus.
At the same time, there is information about preventive measures being shared on social media platforms, such as Facebook. Some of these suggestions, however, are not effective in stopping the spread of coronavirus.
In an article from BBC written in March 2020, Kalpana Sabapathy, a clinical epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says these suggestions can be dangerous to the public because “People will think that by doing that, they're going to be OK. It diverts from the much more important messages.”
Garlic: Some people have shared that eating garlic will prevent infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that while garlic has some antimicrobial properties, it does not prevent the coronavirus.
Drinking water every 15 minutes: A post was shared on Facebook accounts that quoted a Japanese doctor who recommended drinking water every 15 minutes. The idea was that this would clean any viruses out of the mouth. However, there is no evidence that drinking water will flush any viruses out of the body. The coronavirus enters through the respiratory tract, so constantly drinking water will not prevent this specific virus. Still, drinking water will help you stay hydrated and healthy.
Heat and eating ice cream: Exposing the body to heat to kill a virus has not proven to kill it. Once the virus is inside the body, the immune system needs to fight it off. For example, drinking hot water will not raise the body’s inside temperature and kill the virus. People also do not need to be worried about cooling the body, so eating ice cream is still safe.
Some of the most important things to do to help doctors lessen the number of coronavirus cases and keep yourself safe is to not only practice social distancing and wash your hands, but listen to health advice from trusted medical professionals.
