Head over to Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook and you’ll see it: a bunch of too-good-to-be-true health information telling you how to prevent or defeat the coronavirus. Like an old-timey doctor selling potions door-to-door, these social media users promise that they have the key to curing what trained doctors and biochemists can’t. Coronavirus has given these mystical untrained healers the perfect opportunity to peddle health misinformation designed to scare, shock or sell to you. Read on for a few of the absolute worst bits of coronavirus health misinformation. Also, wash your hands.
The Medical Medium’s celery cure
Health information mythbuster and actual doctor Dr. Joshua Wolrich (@drjoshuawolrich) has a whole Instagram highlight dedicated to what might be the most ridiculous, yet most believed, health “guru” on the Internet. The Medical Medium tells followers he gains his insights into health by, yes, talking to the dead. No, he is not a doctor. That doesn’t stop celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Miranda Kerr from blasting his terrible advice to millions of fans.
The Medical Medium hopes to beat coronavirus by having people remove eggs, dairy, gluten, fats and corn from their diets, leaving essentially nothing but air. He attests to the health benefits of drinking celery juice in beating coronavirus, which, shockingly, is not true at all. There is no evidence that specific foods inhibit or encourage viral disease and celery juice is mostly an expensive waste of time. Eat what you have access too and make sure to get in as many fruits, vegetables and glasses of water as you can to stay healthy during quarantine.
Essential oils aren’t vaccines
The rise of the anti-vaxx movement and the growth of exploitative “natural” health companies like Young Living have convinced some corners of the Internet that essential oils are the key to beating common and rare diseases–and now they’re coming for coronavirus. While they may smell nice, there is absolutely no scientific evidence that essential oils can treat, prevent or cure illness. You may come across “recipes” of essential oil blends that promise to boost immunity or cure disease or make you immortal. Rather than spending hundreds on pseudoscientific “immune-boosting” droplets of smelly oil, the best medical advice is to get a yearly flu shot, keep up with all recommended vaccines and take prescribed medicine when you are ill. This is a serious issue: earlier this year, a young boy died from the flu after his mother gave him elderberry syrup instead of the doctor-prescribed Tamiflu. If you see misinformation like this online, report it as such.
Ingesting poison will make things worse
Bizarre-sounding remedies like colloidal silver are being touted by one Christian televangelist as a cure for the coronavirus. If it sounds strange that someone who is qualified at best as a pastor (and has also been to prison for sex and financial scandals) is offering medical advice to followers, it’s because it is strange. Some entrepreneurial spirits have used public fear about coronavirus as a great way to get their snake oil businesses up and running. Colloidal silver in particular can cause medications to be poorly absorbed and turn your skin blue permanently. Other ridiculous “cures,” like excessive Vitamin C, immunity teas and moonshine alcohol, are also far more likely to be seriously harmful than helpful. In general, if information doesn’t come directly from your doctor or a highly credible source like the Center for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) or Surgeon General, you should be highly skeptical.
It’s important to keep yourself and others informed about the coronavirus and health misinformation in general. If someone you know is spreading or buying into misinformation about this disease, here is a guide on talking to them about it. In general, save your money on BS cures, stay at home, wash your hands, eat well and exercise if possible and keep your stress levels as low as you can. For real medical information, head to the CDC’s website.