Between fear, resignation and faith, thousands of Colombians are trying to make the contagion Covid-19 with potions, herbs and home remedies while government-announced vaccines arrive in the country, although in the process there are many who fear the remedy will be worse than the disease.
Baking soda, ginger, eucalyptus, garlic and lemon These are part of the Colombian pharmacy to reduce the occurrence of symptoms or even to alleviate them if someone is already infected at home, but there are others who sow fear, because in their promise to end the virus also presents the risk of finish with whoever practices them.
“One of the symptoms that have been detected of this disease is the loss of sensitivity to smells and tastes; then, people who take these remedies do not feel that it affects their throat due to the same change in the senses,” says the doctor. Juan Carlos Hernández, coordinator of internal medicine and pulmonologist at the Clinic of the West, was quoted as saying in a statement from that medical center.
Like this clinic, others in Colombia have been forced to post through their social networks and websites alerting citizens to the risks of implementing home remedies, of which, in addition, little or nothing is known about their effectiveness. .
From high-temperature sprays with a plant known as anamú – prescribed in popular wisdom for relieving sinusitis – to spraying the mask with alcohol and then vacuuming it, as well as gargling with water at high temperatures, are some of the practices common today. by some Colombians, for whom “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is the risk of a possible Covid-19.
“We have also seen alcohol, hypochlorite, inadequate herbs and gargling with salt,” Hernandez added.
INTERNET CONSULTATION
According to the Institute for Technological Health Assessment, since the first case of Covid-19 In Colombia, in March 2020, 75% of Colombians’ health-related Internet searches were related to home remedies that could attack the virus, a percentage that does not include videos, messages and audios that abound on WhatsApp and other social networks on the subject. .
In fact, in virtual forums and through various media, Jorge Iván Ospina, mayor of Cali (southwest), a doctor by profession and one of the best known local leaders in the country, suggested the use of antiparasitic Ivermectin as a remedy for Covid-19, despite the fact that its effectiveness has not been proven, which has been criticized.
“I did not want to enter that debate because I think it could be excessive, but I have many colleagues who, with Ivermectin, prophylactically, managed to save lives (…). It is something that I, personally, use “, said Ospina last December on the Blu radio station.
Like Ospina, a few others have alluded to the benefits of Ivermectin, to the point where before the first outbreak of the pandemic took place in the country – in August 2019 – the drug began to be scarce and resold even at three times the price. original and clandestine as a sale without a prescription, despite the fact that a prescription is required to purchase it.
“The fear was so great at that time that we even had to go to a doctor who recommended my father to make a medical formula for me and my sisters to buy, but the truth is that I never consumed it. “He told Sputnik a woman from Bogota who requested the reservation of her name.
PRACTICE IN RICH
Now that the country is going through the second peak of the pandemic as a result of the relaxation of biosecurity measures during the Christmas and New Year season, another practice that is in vogue is the consumption of aspirin with lemon and honey from bees, as well as the consumption of chlorine dioxide, a surface disinfectant that can be extremely toxic and can cause serious damage to health.
“A friend recommended me aspirin and it worked for me, I drank it hot three nights in a row and the maluquera (discouragement) passed me by,” says Rafael Renteria, a metal salesman from downtown Bogota. who claims that he had “a strong flu with little loss of smell”, but that he did not Covid-19 because, simply, “you don’t have to believe in those things.”
Inhalations and hot water vaporizations, as well as the fact that you do not drink cold drinks, are other suggestions that are spreading these days among Colombians, perhaps more mythical than effective -according to medical science-, but which in any case have increased the demand for nebulizers and vaporizers in places like Mercado Libre.
There, a portable nebulizer for adults and children costs, on average, 150,000 Colombian pesos (about 43 USD), but sometimes you have to wait up to ten days to receive it.
“A large part of these products are imported from China and are currently some of the most requested along with oxygen concentrators for patients who have suffered or have suffered Coronavirus; the problem is that because of the global difficulties that the pandemic has imposed on trade, it consumes more time to bring them in, “explains Sputnik electronics engineer Hernando Arbeláez, who sells such devices.
He adds that its use must be under medical supervision, as its non-discriminatory use can injure the mucous membranes of the throat.
For now, and while it is expected as in February Vaccinemass production in the country, doctors suggest eating foods rich in vitamins A, B, C and E and others such as fruits, vegetables or fish, moderate exercise and adequate rest, instead of endangering health with home remedies that they can take people from the comfort of their home to an emergency room.
Source: Sputnik