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PETALING JAYA (THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Despite the warning from the Ministry of Health, false information about Covid-19 and false remedies for the disease continue to be rampant in Malaysia.
Herbs, healing oils, honey, and homemade concoctions – these are some of the “preventative drugs” that are talked about among Malaysians.
The state of Sabah, which has consistently recorded four-figure cases in Malaysia’s third wave of Covid-19 infections, appears to also be a hotspot for unsubstantiated cures and home remedies.
Covid-19 patients said they are often bombarded with misinformation about how to treat the virus, from a mix of water with lemon wedges and garlic cloves to drinking a locally distilled rice wine called montoku.
A former Covid-19 patient, who recalled how a relative shared “important” advice with him, described it as “nothing but bullshit.”
“The advice is to take a young coconut, mix its juice with lime and a tablespoon of salt before drinking this and see the result in an hour. It was supposed to cure me of the virus in just one hour,” said the man. who declined to be identified.
He said that while the “suggestion” sounded silly, it was shared quite a bit on his other WhatsApp groups.
“Imagine the whole world struggling to find a cure for Covid-19 and all we need is this simple method,” he laughed.
Another patient, who had also recently recovered from the virus, said that among the many “great” ideas she has heard of, one stood out prominently in her mind.
“My aunt kept telling me to try montoku. She told me that someone she knows apparently improved enough to be discharged from the hospital a few days after drinking montoku. How crazy is that?” she said.
She said the aunt even kept telling her to try to get someone to send her some Montoku while they were protecting her in the hospital from the virus.
She said that although she understood her aunt’s concern, she stopped entertaining the relative after a few days after he became too upset.
“I only started talking to her again after I was released from the hospital,” the woman said.
Other weird remedies are mixing a raw egg with an orange flavored soda and drinking it once before bed and again at dawn before taking a bath.
A viral post on Facebook had a man claiming that he cured himself of Covid-19 by drinking the mixture in addition to drinking warm water mixed with lemon juice three times a day, taking two Panadol in the morning, noon, and night, rubbing eucalyptus oil on your chest and sniffing it all the time for a few days.
A doctor at the Hospital for Women and Children in Likas, near here, said that while he had never encountered such questions from his patients, he advised those with such ideas to first obtain more evidence for his theories.
“For those who wish to believe in these remedies, they must first get more local scientific research from universities and specialists as proof,” he said.
He said that everyone can take supplements and foods that strengthen their immune system.
“But it is not advisable to blindly believe what they read on social media platforms,” he said, adding that even then, supplements and foods that boost the immune system should be taken in small and adequate doses.
In a tweet on October 22, the Ministry of Health reminded Malaysians that “so far there is no cure for # Covid-19. If there are parties selling products that claim to be able to treat Covid-19, it is false.”
However, it has not stopped the “snake oil vendor” from offering services to treat Covid-19.
In Kuala Lumpur, these vendors have put up a banner offering “telemedicine” and free services related to the “Covid-19 vaccine.”
Last month a Twitter user named Hafiz posted a photo of the banner, who was amused. When contacted later, Hafiz said the banner had been removed.
A chain message about how a mixture of coconut water, lime and salt can supposedly cure Covid-19 has been circulating in WhatsApp chat groups.
In July, a woman promoting an anti-Covid-19 bracelet for RM600 (S $ 197.1) a piece was slapped with a compound of RM50,000 for her false claim.
Marketers now seem to be more aware of their claims, but some continue to promote their products as a Covid-19 prevention aid.
An online marketer promoting bottled olive and fig oil, who only wants to be known as Saiful, claimed when contacted that the remedies he sells can be used as a means to “prevent Covid-19 infection.”
“We are selling a miracle oil set, which can be used as a means to prevent Covid-19 infection and a remedy for those who have a stroke or cholesterol, with added benefits for the health of the heart, intestines, kidneys and the lungs, “he said. reclaimed.
None of these claims are supported by medical or scientific evidence and Saiful also did not disclose the contents of the miracle oil set.
Even Health Director General Tan Sri, Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, became the target of these unfounded claims when, about two weeks ago, someone wrote on his Twitter account: “Please eat pineapple and lemon as juice. It can help prevent our body from contracting the virus. #KitaJagaKita “.
The head of the Emergency and Trauma Department at Teluk Intan Hospital, Dr. Samsu Ambia Ismail, who was infected by Covid-19 in April, said that he was once recommended to try ketum juice as a treatment.
“The person did not even have a previous exposure to Covid-19, so how can you know that it can become a remedy?” he said in an interview.
Dr. Samsu said that although an alternative medicine such as Ayurvedic or traditional Chinese treatment existed, there was no scientific evidence that he was aware of that could currently help fight Covid-19.
“People can opt for alternative medicine for health reasons, but they should not neglect proper medical treatment, especially when it comes to Covid-19.
“It is dangerous when Covid-19 patients receive late-stage treatment, especially if they belong to the high-risk group,” he warned.
The President of the Malaysian Public Health Physicians Association, Datuk Dr. Zainal Ariffin Omar, said: “It is unethical and illegal. They are giving clients false hope and taking their money with the possibility of putting their lives in danger.” .
Most viral infections, according to Dr. Zainal, either resolved on their own or slowly cleared from the body through a person’s antibody developed by the infected person himself.
“Immunity, human resistance and the ability to fight the virus will depend on the health of the person, as well as the nutritional status and the presence of chronic or immunosuppressive diseases,” he said.
“Covid-19 infection is a viral disease; it is not a bacteria that can be destroyed by antibiotics. Antiviral drugs do not kill the virus but inhibit its development.”
Dr. Zainal urged authorities to closely monitor vendors who claim their products could cure or prevent Covid-19 infection and to crack down on them.
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