As the world scrambles to find an effective vaccine to cure the coronavirus, a video has gone viral claiming to have a foolproof method for people to effectively safeguard themselves against contracting COVID-19 it in the first place.
People have been forced to abruptly react to the public health pandemic that has claimed more than 90,000 lives worldwide, but the key to staving off the respiratory illness lies in being proactive, according to the video touting an “African method” of self-treatment.
The video, which appears to have been posted to social media this past weekend and is entitled, “Use African Method,” begins in a family’s home kitchen and shows a man lifting a mound of heavy blankets off of his apparent son, releasing plumes of steam from underneath. When the young man got up from the stool he was sitting on, he was dripping with perspiration as the camera also revealed a large cooking pot from which the steam was rising.
“This is African style,” the older man’s voice can be heard saying before he prompts the younger man to explain what’s happening.
“I was in there shaking,” he said before adding with a smile, “but I feel good.”
He explained how the treatment allegedly works.
“Viruses can’t survive in heat,” he claimed. “That’s why viruses outbreaks tend to die out in the summer. So, what this essentially does is it takes all the powers of fruits, all the power of veggies, you put it in a heated environment and then you create a makeshift sauna and it creates that same type environment so the virus can break down and eventually, you yourself will grow the anti-bodies necessary in order for you to fight said virus.”
The video then cuts to a woman encouraging viewers to “believe it.” Watch it below.
Some of the comments posted beneath the video came across as encouraged by it.
“Yes…i do it too. Put aboliki in the water and boil it,” one comment said. Another said: “Wow, this is amazing information – I should share this God bless you !!!”
There is a case to be made for holistic-style treatments to ward off and treat the coronavirus, but they have neither been proven effective on a widespread scale nor approved by the FDA. Obviously, there are different strokes for different folks, as shown by the recent recovery of a coronavirus survivor who looked to his Jamaican heritage when he used “traditional Caribbean home remedies made with turmeric, garlic and ginger” to beat COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has decidedly advised against placing faith in any unproven methods.
“There is no scientific evidence that any of these alternative remedies can prevent or cure the illness caused by COVID-19,” the CDC wrote on its website. “In fact, some of them may not be safe to consume.”
A recent report from Reuters disputes the efficacy of treatments like the so-called “African method” shown on viral video above.
“Steam therapy can help thin mucus as a supplemental course of action to give some relief when grappling a cold or flu ( here ) but overall, scientific studies showing evidence of its usefulness are lacking ( here ),” Reuters wrote before reporting that using this method could also be harmful:
“It is apparent that regardless of how SIT [Steam Inhalation Therapy] is applied it carries a risk of burn injury. The usual technique of covering the head with a towel over a pan filled with hot water is dangerous due to the steam, the hot liquid, or even potential contact with the container.”
SEE ALSO:
Jamaican Coronavirus Survivor Used ‘Traditional Caribbean Home Remedies’ To Beat COVID-19
