Anti-vaxxers are urging iodine to guard against COVID-19.
Patients are being advised by doctors not to do so, as it can pose several health risks.
It is not known if gargling with iodine will prevent COVID-19 from developing or exacerbate it.
Insider Healthcare: Get the latest news and analysis in healthcare Loading Click to sign up for marketing emails from Insider and other partners. You also agree to our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy
Anyone who needs surgery or has any type of major incision, you will be covered in povidone-iodine.
Betadine is an antiseptic medication best known as Betadine. It is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an essential medicine. It is regularly used all over the globe to eradicate any harmful microbes that could infect someone.
It's just the latest, ill-advised attempt to provide COVID-19 at-home treatment for anti-vaxx groups.
Betadine Website
Betadine's manufacturers have posted an online statement stating that it should be used only externally and can not treat COVID-19.
"Betadine Antiseptic Products have not been shown to be effective in the treatment or prevention COVID-19 and other viruses."
Kenneth Weinberg was an emergency physician in New York City who was informed by Rolling Stone that antivaxxers were using Iodine to gargle, and he unimpressed said, "Fuck me!" They are.
Health. Amesh A. Adalja MD, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, stated that there is no evidence that povidone iodine [Betadine] has any effect on COVID-19.
There are mouthwashes with povidone-iodine - doctors tell you that they won't stop COVID-19 from happening.
It poses immediate risks, especially if it is accidentally swallowed.
According to Dr. Adalja, high doses of povidone iodine can also cause kidney problems.
Cassandra M. Pierre MD, MPH is an infectious disease physician who is also the medical director for public health programs at Boston Medical Center. Health said that there are currently no reliable data that suggests that at-home COVID-19 treatment will prevent you from getting it.
It is not clear how Iodine was suggested to treat COVID-19. It is possible that two studies, one suggesting that Iodine could be used in surgery to treat COVID-19 and another stating that laboratory results showed that the antiseptic could also work against COVID-19, were misinterpreted.
First study suggests that it may help spread COVID-19 once it is established.
The second applies only to lab settings.