Saline efficiency in treating Covid not yet proven: Experts

KABUL (Pajhwok): Social media users say gargling with lukewarm saltwater is effective in treating the coronavirus, but health experts say it has not yet been proven.

After the outbreak of the fourth wave of coronavirus, the introduction of some foods, plants, medicine, etc. by users of social media for treatment of the virus has increased.

Saeed, a twitter user, tweeted: “German scientists have finally published the results of their research and announced that best cure for Covid is gargling with saltwater.”

A number of other social media users have also found salt gargling useful for coronavirus and encourage people to use it.

Some families also find gargling with salt water effective for Covid patients and use it as anti-coronavirus medicine.

The online site “actident.co” has also published an article titled “The effect of gargling on the healing of the corona virus”.

The article says gargling with salt water reduces the symptoms of cold, cough, and other illnesses, and because the symptoms of the coronavirus are unlike those of common cold, people with mild symptoms can suffer from it, use this method and reduce the symptoms of the virus.

Zarif Noori, a Kabul resident, told Pajhwok Afghan News that his family used salt in the past for sore throats and it was beneficial.

He said since the outbreak of the virus in Afghanistan, his family members had been infected with virus several times, but they gargled with saltwater besides using some herbal and they recovered.

A number of other citizens recommend gargling with salt water to prevent coronavirus and even cure the disease, and recommend it to other patients as well.

Doctors: Salt water gargling cannot completely kill the coronavirus

Dr. Mairani Bratzai, in charge of infection prevention and control (IPC) at the Afghan Japan Hospital, told Pajhwok that the World Health Organization (WHO) had not yet commented on the use of saltwater for treatment of the virus.

He said gargling salt water was useful for cleaning the throat and preventing the spread of too much infection in the throat, but its usefulness for Covid had not yet been proven and therefore its effectiveness for Covid cannot be confirmed.

He urged families and patients with Covid to refrain from using foods and medicines that had not been proven effective.

He called on people to go to health centers for better treatment and to be guided by a doctor.

Meanwhile, the Iranian American journal of medicine-health has published an article titled: “A few mistakes in preventing the coronariuv that gargling with salt water does not work for Covid-19.”

The article said that nasal salt spray and gargling with salt water for coronavirus, although this medoth is effective against cold but garglind with salt water does not work for Covid-19.

Accoridng to the magazine, people who talk about gargling of salt water for coronavirus have no scientifi opinion and no scientific research has been done in this regard.

Pajhwok Afghan News repeatedly sought the views of the Ministry of Public Health on the issue, but its officials did not respond.

sa/ma