Can eating garlic, gargling with salt water, etc. prevent COVID-19? Don’t believe these 18 rumors about the epidemic!

Recently, various information about the prevention and treatment of the new coronavirus has always occupied a prominent position. This includes many new and old rumors, which may lead people to have a wrong understanding of the new coronavirus and adopt wrong methods in the process of preventing and treating the new coronavirus.

In response to this, Science Popularization China has selected a number of rumors that have attracted the most attention recently from the previously debunked and popularized content about the new coronavirus, and analyzed them one by one, hoping to dispel everyone's concerns and review the correct methods of preventing and controlling the new coronavirus.

01

These preventive measures are unfounded!

**Can spicy foods such as garlic prevent infection with the new coronavirus? ** No evidence.

In in vitro experiments, allicin and related nutrients do show a certain inhibitory effect on pathogenic microorganisms, but it should be noted that these are mostly the results of in vitro cell tests on isolated and extracted allicin or alliin and other components, which is different from eating garlic on a daily basis .

Judging from the current epidemic situation, there is no evidence that eating more garlic can prevent people from being infected with COVID-19. Garlic has many health benefits, and moderate intake is good for health, but it is indeed difficult to use it to prevent COVID-19.

The same goes for other onions, ginger, chili peppers, and peppers.

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**Can drinking liquor prevent infection with the new coronavirus? ** Liquor does not have this function .

Although 75% medical alcohol can be used to wipe the surface of objects to kill the new coronavirus, it is powerless against viruses that have already entered the body, not to mention that almost all liquors do not have such a high alcohol content as medical alcohol. Moreover, drinking alcohol itself may irritate the human body, aggravate symptoms, and may affect the effect of medication . In addition, drinking alcohol is inherently bad for health.

**Can gargling with salt water prevent infection with the new coronavirus? **Salt water does not have this function.

Zhong Nanshan's team refuted the rumor: gargling with salt water helps clean the mouth and throat, and is helpful for pharyngitis. However, the new coronavirus invades the respiratory tract, and gargling cannot clean the respiratory tract . Secondly, there is currently no research result suggesting that salt water has a killing effect on the new coronavirus.

**Can taking medicine prevent COVID-19? ** There is no such medicine .

There is no drug that can clearly reduce the possibility of COVID-19 infection. Whether it is the so-called COVID-19 special medicine sold online or cold medicine, it is impossible to prevent COVID-19 infection by taking medicine in advance. In addition to wearing masks, washing hands frequently, ventilating the home frequently, and maintaining social distance , the correct way is to maintain a healthy diet, moderate exercise, and good sleep.

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02

These operations are not necessary!

**Can masks be cleaned and reused? **No.

At present, both medical surgical masks and N95 protective masks are disposable products. Their protective performance may decrease after cleaning or disinfection. Since masks that have been used for a period of time may be attached with viruses, cleaning may also cause contamination. Therefore, we must replace new masks regularly, and if the masks are dirty or damaged, they must be replaced at any time.

**The new crown can cause hypoxia, should I prepare an oxygen concentrator at home? **If your family does not need oxygen, there is no need to buy an oxygen concentrator to deal with the new crown.

Oxygen therapy should be performed under the guidance of a doctor. Too high a concentration or too long a time can lead to oxygen poisoning, so do not make your own judgment.

The need for oxygen inhalation for patients infected with the new coronavirus also depends on the condition of the disease. Asymptomatic and mild cases do not need oxygen, and ordinary cases can use oxygen on demand ; severe and critical cases need oxygen, but oxygen inhalation for patients infected with the new coronavirus is also an auxiliary treatment and needs to be used on the basis of combined treatment. At this stage, oxygen inhalation at home alone is of no use.

Instead of preparing an oxygen concentrator, it is better to prepare a finger clip oximeter.

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**Can you identify COVID-19 infection by listening to coughing? **Don't take it seriously.

A positive nucleic acid test for the new coronavirus is the gold standard for determining infection with the new coronavirus . Coughing is just a symptom. Many diseases may cause coughing, and it is not necessarily caused by the new coronavirus. In addition, this type of mini-program sometimes requires personal information to be filled in, which may cause sensitive information to be leaked, so everyone should be cautious.

**Should you stock up on some antigen test kits and test yourself regularly to make sure you are not infected? **No need.

Antigen testing should be used to determine whether it is a new coronavirus infection after typical symptoms such as headache and fever have appeared. If there are no symptoms, regular antigen testing is not necessary. Test once when symptoms appear, and test 1-2 times during the illness. Considering that even repeated infections are usually separated by several months, we only need to prepare 2-3 antigen test kits per person. There is no need to buy dozens of copies at a time.

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**If you are infected with the new coronavirus, will you recover faster by taking more medicines? **Wrong.

This practice may be life-threatening. Each drug has a strict usage and dosage. Only by using the drug correctly can it cure the disease while causing fewer side effects. Taking multiple drugs without authorization can easily lead to repeated use and overdose, which is harmful to human health. Although some drugs have different trade names, their chemical components are the same and they are still the same drug. Random combination use can easily lead to excessive drug intake and cause danger.

Therefore, if there is a doctor's order and prescription, you should take the medicine according to the doctor's order and do not add medicine at will . For patients with mild symptoms who are treated at home, it is recommended to take medicine according to the home treatment guidelines of the National Health Commission. Read the instructions carefully before taking the medicine and do not take several medicines at once.

03

Masks are not to blame for these things!

**Wearing a mask can cause lung nodules and turn into lung cancer? **Wear it with confidence.

Many people have lung nodules. The increase in lung nodule detection is mainly due to more advanced detection methods and more frequent screening, but it has nothing to do with masks. Moreover, in most cases, " lung nodules ≠ lung cancer ", so there is no need to be too anxious. Wearing a mask correctly is still one of the effective ways to resist the new coronavirus.

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**Wearing a mask will cause hypoxia? **It depends on the situation.

For healthy people, experiments have shown that even wearing a 7-layer medical surgical mask will have little effect on blood oxygen saturation. N95 or masks with higher protection performance are more suitable for professionals in high-risk environments or ordinary people who need to go to the hospital for temporary wear, because wearing N95 masks for a long time may cause discomfort.

In addition, for people who already have difficulty breathing, such as smokers, emphysema patients, and obese people, wearing N95 masks may make the situation worse or even aggravate their breathing problems.

**Masks contain graphene, which is harmful to human health? **False.

The so-called "graphene masks" currently sold on the market are mostly gimmicks. For example, the raw material of a certain "biomass graphene" was verified to be processed from straw. It is worth noting that some mask materials use nano-grade activated carbon, and long-term wearing of activated carbon masks does pose a risk of inhaling particles . For daily epidemic prevention, the public should choose protective masks that meet national standards and not gimmick products.

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**Masks contain ethylene oxide, will wearing them cause cancer? **Don't worry.

Ethylene oxide is a common and easy-to-use disinfectant that can be used for low-temperature sterilization. Food packaging, baby diapers, sanitary napkins, masks, etc. can all be disinfected with ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide itself is volatile. Masks are disinfected with ethylene oxide. After disinfection, they will be left to dissipate for a period of time according to regulations. They can only be put on the market for sale after the content reaches a safe range after testing . Therefore, there is no need to worry about buying qualified masks.

04

There is no need to worry about these!

**Having a fever means you are infected with the coronavirus? **Not necessarily.

Fever is just a symptom, not a diagnosis of a disease . Fever alone cannot be used to determine what disease a person has. Therefore, COVID-19 cannot be diagnosed based on the symptom of "fever". The diagnosis and treatment plan also states that "a diagnosis should be made based on a comprehensive analysis of epidemiological history, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests, etc. A positive nucleic acid test for the new coronavirus is the primary criterion for diagnosis."

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**Will eating oranges, tangerines and other fruits lead to a positive antigen test? **The possibility is very small.

If the antigen test is performed correctly, the sampling site is the nasal mucosa, and even if you eat oranges, this site will not come into contact with orange juice, so there is no impact. Orange juice can make the antigen test positive because it destroys the appropriate pH environment , but this itself does not meet the sampling standards, the result is meaningless, and it cannot be said that the antigen test is inaccurate.

**The strain prevalent in Beijing is more virulent than the one in Guangzhou, so it makes people more uncomfortable? **Not really.

Whether it is uncomfortable or not is mainly a personal feeling . In fact, the BF.7 variant prevalent in Beijing and the BA.5.2 variant prevalent in Guangzhou are both branches of Omicron, and their infectiousness and pathogenicity will not change fundamentally. As for the different symptoms of individuals, this may be related to factors such as physical constitution, age, and whether there are underlying diseases.

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**Everyone will test positive sooner or later, so why not get infected early and test positive sooner? **Don't try.

After being infected with the new coronavirus, you will gain immunity to the strain within a certain period of time, but it does not mean that you will not be infected again. Compared with Delta and previous variants, Omicron is more likely to cause reinfection. In addition, repeated infections still have a certain risk of severe illness and will be transmitted to high-risk groups such as the elderly at home and those with underlying diseases. Therefore, we still need to pay attention to personal protection and get vaccinated in time.

**Are the aftereffects of COVID-19 very serious? **Not really.

Tong Zhaohui, a respiratory critical care expert, said that the current research on post-COVID symptoms is targeting previous strains. At present, it should be said that there is no observation of post-COVID symptoms of Omicron in China. However, more than 90% of Omicron are asymptomatic and mild, and its symptoms are mainly manifested in the upper respiratory tract , such as low-to-moderate fever, cough, and sore throat, which will heal in 5 or 7 days.

From common sense, there should be no sequelae because it is in the upper respiratory tract and does not affect the organs and tissues in our body. At least there is no relevant literature at home or abroad to support this statement.

Author | Science Popularization China New Media

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