The leaves of mhlonyane, a common plant in Southern Africa, have been used by traditional healers for centuries to manage respiratory diseases. However, there is not sufficient scientific evidence that this is an effective treatment. Guava leaves are also used in folk medicine in several countries, mainly as an anti-diarrheal remedy. When disinfecting a surface, applying heat can destroy coronavirus particles, but similar treatments are not effective once the virus is already inside the human body.Įucalyptus, also known as gumtree, is popular for its oil and leaves. This includes hot baths, hand dryers, living in humid climates, and sunny weather.Ī list of recommended practices to minimise risks of contracting Covid-19 can be found on the WHO website here.Ī 2017 study in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews found that there is no conclusive evidence that steam reduces cold symptoms or the viral dose of the rhinovirus that causes colds. More broadly speaking, the UN health agency has refuted claims that heat can prevent or treat Covid-19. WHO hasn’t received data from clinical trials which can support such a claim," WHO Africa spokesman Collins Boakye-Agyemang told AFP Fact Check. "This claim is not based on scientific evidence. Inhaling steam is a traditional remedy used by some communities to treat colds, but there is little evidence that it is effective. However, experts say there is no scientific evidence to support these claims. The narrator in the video asks the man in Swahili to describe his experience, to which he replies, “sema mvuke”, which loosely translates to “it’s very steamy”.ĭifferent versions of the claim that steam inhalation can help prevent or treat Covid-19 have been circulating since the start of the pandemic in December 2019. Screenshot of the false post taken on March 1, 2021īelow the caption is a video that shows a man emerging from what appears to be a homemade sauna. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology. ( Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. The false Facebook posts have accumulated shares of over 22,700. The claim has since come into question, and has been debunked by doctors in London, according to some news reports. The false FB post surfaced shortly after the Malaysian Health Minister, in a March interview, advised people to drink warm water to kill the coronavirus. Other versions replaced the Malaysia context with an anecdote claiming the method has cured a Filipina with “trangkaso” or the flu in Japan. More recently, five netizens re-uploaded the untrue post on April 14, adding context that saltwater steam inhalation therapy has caused a lot of COVID-19 recoveries in Malaysia. The 2012 research also noted that steam inhalation therapy has no proven benefit.Ībeyasinghe said: “To fight COVID-19, we need to be guided by science and evidence… Until there is sufficient evidence, WHO cautions against recommending or administering unproven treatments to patients with COVID-19 or people self-medicating with them.”Ī WHO webpage dedicated to debunking myths about COVID-19 recommends that “those infected with the virus should receive appropriate care to relieve and treat symptoms, and those with severe illness should receive optimized supportive care.”Ī look at the false post’s history on social media via monitoring tool CrowdTangle shows the claim has been circulating since March 23. This is reflected in at least a couple of studies, including a 2012 research in the Netherlands and a 2014 study in Spain. More, WHO warned that extremely hot steam can be harmful, as there is a risk of burn injury. “Salt water steam will not prevent you from catching COVID-19… To date, there is no recommended treatment or vaccine to prevent or treat COVID-19,” said World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in the Philippines Rabindra Abeyasinghe in an email to VERA Files Fact Check. It added “there is nothing wrong” in trying the method, and provided instructions how to do it. A Facebook (FB) post assuring the public that inhalation of steam from water mixed with salt can kill the virus that causes COVID-19 is false.Ĭurrently circulating on social media, the inaccurate post claims the heat from the steam “kills the virus in your resperatory system (sic)” while the salt helps strip off the virus from one’s nose and mouth.
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