Can folk remedies help with coronavirus

Russians have started to buy massively folk medicine against the background of the pandemic, pharmacists told Gazeta.Ru. Although they believe that such self-treatment may worsen the condition, some doctors are convinced that folk remedies may help in the fight against COVID-19. For example, chaga mushroom stimulates the immune response to the virus, and badger fat helps get rid of phlegm. However, consuming these products in the wrong dosage can cause irreparable harm to the body, medics warn.

"Alcohol tincture or tea."

Chaga helps not only in prevention but also in treatment of COVID-19. This was reported to "Gazeta.Ru" by dietician Elena Solomatina.

Chaga is a mushroom, usually growing on the birch tree. It appears on wounded or old trees and protects them from pests, desiccation and mold. In the case of humans, chaga can strengthen the body"s immunity, the medic is convinced.

Chaga has long been used as a therapeutic agent - antiviral, antibacterial and antitumor. Using it to treat or prevent coronavirus will not be superfluous. Chaga stimulates the immune response and even modifies it: it doesn"t allow the cytokine storm to develop, i.e. it causes the number of soldiers that is necessary to kill the enemy - the virus", - told the nutritionist.

The useful properties of chaga are due to the fact that it is rich in minerals - in particular, magnesium, iron, silver, zinc, aluminum and sodium,

Chaga helps to improve the tightness of the walls of blood vessels, restores hormonal background, strengthens the immune system, accelerates regeneration, lowers blood glucose. It has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, styptic, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, antitumor and antihistamine properties. It is not scientifically proved, whether this mushroom will help to cure or prevent infection with COVID-19, but it is possible to take it as a supportive therapy", - noted the expert.

Chaga is available in pharmacies in the form of tea, cream, coffee, facial serum and jam. "It is available in different forms: somewhere alcoholic tincture, somewhere just crushed mixture for brewing. They have a different order of intake, so it is important to look at the instructions, " warned nutritionist Elena Solomatina.

She urged Russians "not to run with an axe into the woods" in search of chaga, because the mushroom is already treated in pharmacies, and the one on the tree may have absorbed harmful substances.

We do not know what salts of heavy metals, radionuclides this tree has accumulated. Chaga can absorb the harmful waste that this tree contains. Either we run with an axe into the taiga, or we buy pharmacy chaga, which has been tested for radiation and other toxins, "- said the medic.

After all, chaga may harm human health if it is consumed in excessive amounts or has an individual intolerance, warned the therapist Ekaterina Yashina.

An overdose of chaga may cause dyspepsic phenomena (diseases of the digestive system - "Gazeta.Ru"), increased excitability, as well as allergic reactions and an increase in the concentration of uric acid in the blood. I note that it is forbidden to take it if you are hypersensitive to the main active substance, pregnancy, lactation, as well as children under 14 years, "- she said.

The usefulness of chaga for a new type of coronavirus was noticed by Rospotrebnadzor on November 11. The agency published a post on its Instagram page titled "Effective folk remedy for coronavirus." "According to the results of the study, an aqueous extract of pharmaceutical chaga showed high inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2, " the agency wrote.

They noted that Tamara Teplyakova, head of the laboratory of mycology of the Novosibirsk Center "Vector", managed to be cured of COVID-19 with the help of chaga. In this regard, the institution has applied for a patent for a coronavirus infection drug with an extract of this mushroom.

To die not from coronavirus, but from badger fat".

Russians believe that folk remedies are able to defeat COVID-19 - during the pandemic they are buying up chaga and badger fat en masse, said Nikolay Bespalov, development director of RNC Pharma which analyzes the Russian pharmaceutical market, to "Gazeta.ru".

Such tendencies are present - it is a fact. It"s normal that people try to protect themselves, resort to folk remedies. But it is necessary to take them as a preventive measure and a measure of psychological support, but do not rely on the full treatment with folk methods. After all, the disease can run down and face serious health problems", - said the expert.

The therapist Yashina confirmed that badger fat can be useful for health, as it contains polyunsaturated fatty acids, antioxidant substances, vitamins A, B and E. However, with coronavirus, this remedy will help only if the patient has a mucous sputum, doctors said. Using it to treat other symptoms or for prevention is useless.

Badger fat has warming and expectorant properties - for example, in bronchitis and bacter