The internet is rife with countless remedies for just about everything to do with Covid-19. From vitamin C and zinc to standing in a hot sauna and using every imaginable natural remedy, the coronavirus pandemic has fanned the flames of misleading information everywhere.
This deluge of myths and misconceptions has flooded all social media networks encouraging others to follow unproven claims with numerous videos and other documents.
Some of this may indeed be well intentioned with the general public posting and sharing information regarding possible remedies or preventative measures they believe will stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Aside from this, there are the many conspiracy theories and even more insidious content from those trying to deliberately mislead others.
This information is not just unsubstantiated, but what may start as a seemingly simple message can end up in the mainstream media and take on a life of its own despite no real scientific backing.
Current technology enables just about anyone to weigh in, post and share content which can spread quickly and globally.
What is concerning is when this advice comes from those with the power to influence others. Celebrities, media personalities, and others well known and frequently in the public eye may all contribute knowingly or not to this misinformation.
Even more frightening is very often the source may come from doctors, healthcare providers, homeopaths and other persons who are familiar with heath related issues.
There are many videos of them giving their opinion on the best way to manage the disease.
They may all seem authoritative enough but not only do they use their own experience, they incorrectly base their advice on interactions with very few cases, many of which may indeed be outliers.
An outlier tends to be the odd one out which deviates from a normal pattern but is particularly memorable. The problem with these outliers though is that they do not necessarily represent the true picture.
Most remain vehemently convinced that their advice is the absolute truth. What they have forgotten is that science is not a personal opinion. It needs to be proven right or wrong.
This opinion-based medicine relies on what someone thinks or feels may be the right option but ignores the principles of basic sciences and the need for rigorous evidence that has been tried and tested. The ongoing pandemic has done more than any other existing disease to perpetuate this opinion-based medicine and the pseudoscience that many of these opinions rely on.
In the face of the current uncertainty, people crave information, but this can open the floodgates to the creation and spread of inaccurate and unreliable data.
What medical care should ultimately rely on is the best available scientific evidence to enable doctors and other healthcare providers to make informed decisions about how to treat patients. Just saying “this is the way I’ve been doing it for years” is not good enough.
Clinical trials, research studies and regulatory agencies that publish guidelines and policies based on the best current evidence are required to determine the care of individuals. This evidence-based medicine, not opinion-based, is the backbone of standard clinical practice.
A major issue currently is that these rigorous scientific processes take time, and while it may be difficult to wait for the answers, we cannot use our own opinions or imagination to dictate care while waiting for the science to be proven, or disproven.
Of course, there is a role for clinical judgement and the knowledge that accumulates with experience when treating a disease. Nonetheless, using good hard evidence when practised knowledgeably and compassionately can include both basic science principles as well as the subtleties of clinical judgement, to make decisions.
Recognised scientific and medical organisations worldwide should focus on public health campaigns to communicate accurate information to the public while steering them away from the myths and misconceptions.
In an emerging situation where there is uncertainty and ambiguity, ready access to reliable and credible information as it becomes available is crucial.
One can only hope that this could be disseminated as widely and quickly and have as much traction as those that contain false and misleading information seem to have.