As more and more people die, people get more desperate for a cure. Some get so desperate that they fake a cure and publicize it. Whether their intentions are money or fame, they’re fooling thousands into thinking that by doing this little thing, they’ll either be immune to coronavirus or they can cure their sickness. In this article, I’ll be going over three popular fake cures and the truths behind them.
Silver
The Christian Jim Bakker Show that was popular in the 70’s started selling vitamins, food rations, heritage seeds, and a “Silver Solution,” also known as colloidal silver. Sherrill Sellman, a guest on the show, said, “Well let’s say it hasn’t been tested on this strain of the coronavirus, but it’s been tested on other strains of the coronavirus, and has been able to eliminate it within 12 hours, totally eliminate it, kills it, deactivates it.” A 16oz bottle of the Silver Solution costs $40.00 on the show’s website. Jim Bakker isn’t the first to attempt selling colloidal silver; N-Ergetics and Vital Silver along with The Jim Bakker Show received a warning from the FTC, and the show received a lawsuit from Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt for falsely selling the silver as a cure when it’s not.
Air Purifiers
One air purifier company began a fundraising campaign saying that their air purifiers were installed in Wuhan hospitals and can “eradicate virus in a single air pass.” According to experts, however, most commercially sold air purifiers can’t remove coronavirus because they use high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. While HEPA filters can remove many particles, the virus is too small to be affected. Dr. Erin Sorrell, an assistant professor of microbiology and a member of Georgetown’s Center for Global Health Science and Security said, “Your typical HEPA filter is not going to be able to remove coronavirus from the air, the filter itself is .3 microns and the virus itself is roughly .1 microns.” This goes to say that most air purifiers would be incredibly un-effective in removing the virus from the air, so you’d be better off to save your money for something else.
Water and Stomach Acid
A tweet-gone-viral claimed that if you drank water every 15 minutes, the virus would be washed through your system into your stomach, where the stomach acid would kill it. While many people believed this, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert with Vanderbilt University, told the Associated Press, “We always caution anyone healthy and people who are sick to keep up fluid intake and keep mucus membranes moist. It makes you feel better, but there is no clear indication that it directly protects you against complications.” The tweet also says to hold your breath for 10 seconds. “If you complete it successfully without coughing, without discomfort, stiffness or tightness, etc., it proves there is no Fibrosis in the lungs, basically indicates no infection.” This is also incorrect as, “That can check if you are anxious or have respiratory compromise,” but not tell you if you have coronavirus, according to Dr. Loren Rauch, a doctor at Antelope Valley Hospital in Los Angeles, who has a master’s degree in epidemiology. Knowing that the last bit is false is very important as many people believe it, and you can now make sure they know that that’s not a true test.
While researching all of this, I came across other “cures” that I wasn’t able to get much information on, but if you see claims that something will cure it, please go to the CDC website, as they’ll be updated on whether or not there’s actually a cure. Many of the so-called “cures” out there are scams and/or harmful, so we all need to be careful. The best way to prevent getting the virus is just to follow the social-distancing rules and/or stay home. Be safe!