Some treat coronavirus with herbal medicine despite no evidence

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There is no new approved drug Coronavirus, Some people are turning to alternative medicine, and the government is often promoting them.

This is most evident in India and China, populated countries with a deep history and tradition of promoting such treatments, and may limit access to traditional health care.

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In India, where the blockade of 1.3 billion residents has advanced, the government has faced criticism after claiming that some treatments may help prevent infections. In China, when the pandemic began, authorities made unsubstantiated claims that traditional medicine was the key to fighting the virus. In Venezuela, where the healthcare system is severely compromised, President Nicholas Maduro pitched to drink herbal tea.

Herbal medicines are common in India and China.
(IStock)

The World Health Organization did not recommend taking “traditional herbal remedies” on its website. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic later admitted that he was looking at alternative medicine “to alleviate some of the milder symptoms of COVID-19.”

Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO’s emergency director, welcomed rigorous research into alternative treatments “as with any other drug.” He said many studies are underway in China and many are testing traditional therapies.

“It is up to people to insist on providing evidence,” said Dr. Stephen Barrett, a retired psychiatrist who runs QuackWatch, an unproven medical therapy website.

Thursday, National Institutes of Health He warned against alternative medicines, including certain herbal remedies and teas, to treat or prevent COVID-19, saying there is no evidence of their functioning and may be unsafe.

Let’s take a closer look at the claims.

India

India is imbued with the Hindu medical system centered around Ayurveda, herbal medicine and dietary restrictions.

According to an AYUSH ministry online post, the outbreak spread out of China earlier this year, so Indian health institutions promoting alternative medicine urged unproven relief to “strengthen the immune system.”

Criticism urged the government to clarify that these remedies were not cures. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended the blockade of India and called on citizens to “follow the instructions issued by the AYUSH ministry to strengthen immunity.”

The government also recommends single-dose homeopathic medicines, said Anu Kapoor, who heads a government-run homeopathic hospital in New Delhi.

But it has not been shown to work, said public health expert Dr. Anant Bhan. “The same criteria should apply, especially for times like this,” he said.

Coupled with the Indian government’s promotion of alternative treatments for COVID-19, and the bizarre allegations of elected representatives of the ruling Baltijajanta party that cow urine or feces can provide treatment, misleads. It was

Last month, Modi told alternative medicine experts that she needed to counter the unsubstantiated claims that she could treat COVID-19. The AYUSH ministry then ordered all states to “stop and prevent publicity and publicity” of the promised cure.

China

The Chinese government claimed that combining herbal medicines with traditional medicines helped the country deal with the outbreak.

Last month, the Chinese National Health Commission published a document on the treatment of COVID-19 patients. This document contains several herbal medicines that claim to relieve symptoms such as weakness and fever.

For infected patients, among other remedies, they prescribed “soup for lung cleansing and detoxification” and recommended a case-by-case evaluation.

Chinese authorities and state-owned media are promoting treating patients with alternative medicine for virus-exposed healthcare workers.

However, some reports published in major medical journals of a large number of patients treated in China do not mention alternative medicine. Instead, they say the treatment revolved around established methods such as respiratory support, drugs that help prevent additional infections such as bacterial pneumonia, and other widely accepted treatments. I will.

Zhong Nanshan, an epidemiologist who advised the government, said earlier this year that he was testing Chinese herbal medicine.

Some of these practices have existed for centuries. However, since there is little or no scientific evidence that they oppose COVID-19, attempts have been made to assemble it as a cultural issue rather than a scientific one.

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Promoting treatment “without proper scientific evidence” was a concern, said Dr. Daniel Klitzkes of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Some of these preparations are toxic and can harm the liver and interfere with other drugs, so to prove that they are safe, “you do a hard job. is needed”