FALSE: TAKING A HOT BATH CAN PREVENT COVID-19
Rodgers Odhiambo and Celine Abuga
FALSE: TAKING A HOT BATH CAN PREVENT COVID-19
A post shared repeatedly on Facebook claims that taking a hot bath is an effective remedy against the novel corona virus, COVID-19. The claim is misleading; health experts say there is no scientific evidence that bathing in hot water can prevent people from catching the virus; the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that bathing or showering in very hot water can be “harmful”. The post was published on Facebook on February 18, 2020.
The claim on Facebook had a screenshot of an image where the post’s caption translates to English as: “Taking a hot bath is also good to prevent corona virus. Let us install Vigen (not stands for virus generator).” The post was published alongside three images of water heaters produced by the Indonesia-based manufacturers, Vigen. Its products can be seen for sale on the Indonesian marketplace Tokopedia here and here.
Dr Dirga Sakti Rambe, an internist and vaccinologist at Jakarta’s OMNI Pulomas Hospital, told AFP by WhatsApp on March 19, 2020: “There has not been any scientific evidence to suggest that coronavirus can be killed with hot water.”
The WHO confirmed the claim, Taking a hot bath will not prevent you from catching COVID-19. Your normal body temperature remains around 36.5°C to 37°C, regardless of the temperature of your bath or shower. Actually, taking a hot bath with extremely hot water can be harmful, as it can burn you. The best way to protect yourself against COVID-19 is by frequently cleaning your hands. By doing this you eliminate viruses that may be on your hands and avoid infection that could occur by then touching your eyes, mouth, and nose.
This message is brought to you by Sky Fm in collaboration with Code for Africas’iLab Data Journalism Program supported by DW Akademie
