If something has become clear to us with the coronavirus pandemic, it is that diseases can disrupt the plans of entire populations and that it is important to always have a plan B. Another thing that we also suspect is that we know very little about COVID-19. There is a lot of misinformation about it and, in times of crisis, hoaxes seem to grow and spread like wildfire.

The virus does not travel through the air, well yes, masks serve to protect us from contagion, in fact, they do not work, we can carry traces of the disease in our shoes, right? But just in case you better wash the clothes and take them off when you enter, although you can live in the water … among all that amalgam of concepts and their opposites, it is normal to be a little lost and not know what to believe. Some of them are quite dangerous, which is why we have compiled some of the most common myths that many people still believe about the coronavirus (and shouldn’t).

Rinsing with saline help

Some rumours claim that if you rinse your nose with saline, you can prevent coronavirus. Of course, there is no scientific validity in this. However, the WHO has noted that some evidence indicates that rinsing the nose regularly with saline can speed recovery from the common cold (but not from the flu or COVID-19).

And use an ultraviolet lamp

Surely you’ve heard it in the last few months. C-rays (UVC) have the ability to inactivate infectious pathogens, bacteria and viruses, but homemade ultraviolet lamps are absolutely useless and, furthermore, their use can be harmful.

Masks cause oxygen deficiency

Although wearing a mask for a long time, especially in hot weather, is not the most comfortable thing in the world, the WHO has warned that masks do not cause oxygen deficiency or carbon dioxide poisoning.

Shortly for the vaccine

We regret to deny this hoax. The most optimistic assure that perhaps for the end of the year or the beginning of 2021, but a specific date cannot yet be given on the arrival of the vaccine in our country. Keep in mind that the record for developing a completely novel vaccine is at least four years.

The pneumonia vaccine protects

It is not true either, because COVID-19, although also known as ‘Wuhan’s pneumonia’, is a new and unknown disease, so it would require a specific vaccine to be treated.

Misting reduces the risk of infection

In March, a video of an Argentine doctor named Mario Pesaresi went viral, recommending making steam to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection. As he explained, the coronavirus dies at 56 degrees, by breathing steam hotter than that temperature we kill the virus and thus reduces the risk of infection.

There is actually no scientific evidence that the coronavirus dies at that temperature, and the WHO has said nothing about it. Furthermore, speaking of heat, as far as we know and have verified, the virus seems to be transmitted equally in hot and cold areas.

5G has caused the coronavirus

It sounds like a dystopian movie, but it has also become a frequent conspiracy theory.

Do not spray yourself with alcohol, do not inject disinfectant or put saline. Don’t think 5G has anything to do with the disease either

The WHO has already given a logical explanation: Viruses cannot travel on radio waves or mobile networks, and the virus is spreading in many countries that do not have 5G mobile networks. Although cleaning the phone is a good idea, and if you want to do it well.

If you spray yourself with alcohol, you prevent the virus

Besides being crazy, it is useless. Not only will you ruin your clothes, but it can damage your mucosa, so use it only to clean surfaces.

And the disinfectant?

In April, Donald Trump proposed ending the virus “with a disinfectant injection or applying sunlight.” We don’t know if it was some kind of macabre joke but of course, there is no evidence that they help cure the disease, not surprisingly.

Drinking human milk prevents coronavirus

It sounds surreal too, but in April there was an increase in people who bought human breast milk due to the belief that it would help prevent the disease, for some reason. Dr. Dyan Hes denied in ‘CBS’ that it was good for anything.

“Do not buy breast milk to prevent COVID. That is not going to help you”

Dr. Dyan Hes, founder of Gramercy Pediatrics, on headlines suggesting breast milk could protect from coronavirus https://t.co/qRpCuGpuS6 pic.twitter.com/KpgIZA7wA4

— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 14, 2020