Between fear, resignation and faith, thousands of Colombians seek to ole the contagion of Covid-19 with potions, herbs and home medicines while the Vaccines announced by the Government arrive in the country, although in the process there are also several who fear that the remedy is worse than the disease.
Baking soda, ginger, eucalyptus, garlic and lemon they are part of the Colombian pharmacy to reduce the appearance of symptoms or even relieve them in case someone is already infected at home, but there are others who sow fear because in their promise to end the virus they also carry implicit the risk of ending who practices them.
“One of the symptoms that has been detected of this disease is the loss of sensitivity to odors and tastes, so people who take these remedies do not feel that they are affecting their throat by the same alteration of the senses,” says the Dr. Juan Carlos Hernández, coordinator of internal medicine and pulmonologist at the Clinic of the West, quoted in a statement from this medical center.
Like this clinic, others in Colombia have had to issue offices through their social networks and websites that warn citizens of the risks of implementing some home remedies, of which, moreover, little or nothing is known about the its efficiency.
From spraying at high temperatures with an herb known as anamú – prescribed in popular wisdom to relieve sinusitis – to spraying the mouthpiece with alcohol and then aspirating, as well as gargling water at high temperature, are some of the practices frequented today in day for some Colombians, for whom the fact that “what does not kill you makes you stronger” is the risk of a possible contagion of Covid-19.
“We have also seen consumption of alcohol, hypochlorite, unsuitable herbs and gargles with salt,” Hernandez added.
INTERNET CONSULTATION
According to the Institute for Health Technology Assessment, since the first case of Covid-19 in Colombia, in March 2020, 75 percent of Colombians’ health-related Internet searches have to do with home remedies that could attack the virus, a percentage that does not include the videos, messages and audios that abound on WhatsApp and other social media on the subject.
In fact, in virtual forums and through different media, Jorge Iván Ospina, mayor of Cali (southwest), a doctor by profession and one of the best known local leaders in the country, has suggested the use of the antiparasitic Ivermectin as remedy in front of the Covid-19, Although its efficiency has not been proven, so it has been criticized.
“I didn’t want to get into this debate anymore because I think it could be excessive, but I have many colleagues who with Ivermectin, in a prophylactic way, have managed to save lives (…). It’s something I, personally, use “Ospina said last December on Blu Ràdio.
Like Ospina, several others have alluded to the benefits of Ivermectin, to the point that before the first peak of the pandemic occurred in the country – in August 2019 – the drug began to become scarce and be resold even in three times its original price and clandestinely as an over-the-counter sale, although medical formula is required to purchase it.
“It was so scary this time, that we even had to use a doctor who recommended my father to give me a medical formula to my sisters and me to be able to buy it, but the it’s true that we never consume it, ”a woman from Bogota told Sputnik asking for reservation of her name.
TRADING PRACTICES
Now, when 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 of the practices that is in vogue is the consumption of aspirin with lemon and bee honey, as well as the consumption of chlorine dioxide, a surface disinfectant that can be highly toxic and cause serious damage to health.
“A friend recommended me aspirin and it worked for me, I took this very hot for three nights in a row and the maluquera (discouragement) happened to me,” says Rafael Renteria, a metal salesman at the center of Bogota that claims to have had “a strong flu with a slight loss of smell,” but that a test of Covid-19 because, simply, “you don’t have to believe in these things.”
Inhalations and vaporizations with hot water, as well as not drinking cold drinks, are other suggestions that run therefore these days among Colombians, perhaps more mythical than efficient -according to medical science-, but in any case they have raised the demand for nebulizers and vaporizers in places like the free market.
There, a portable nebulizer for adults and pediatrics costs, on average, $ 150,000 Colombian pesos (about $ 43), but sometimes you have to wait up to ten days to receive it.
“Many of these products are imported from China and these days are some of the most in demand along with oxygen concentrators for patients who have or have suffered Coronavirus; the problem is that due to the global difficulties that the pandemic has imposed on trade, it is more time-consuming to bring them, “electronic engineer Hernando Arbeláez, who sells these devices, told Sputnik.
He adds that its use should be under medical supervision, as its indiscriminate use can injure the mucous membranes of the throat.
For now, and while the February is expected to begin vaccineIn the country, doctors suggest consuming foods rich in vitamins A, B, C and E and others such as fruits, vegetables or fish, exercising moderately and resting properly, instead of endangering health with home remedies that can take people from the comfort of their home to an emergency room.
Source: Sputnik