People should not take any medicine prescribed by social media for Covid-19 as they are fake. They can take Vitamin D and Zinc if they really need to take something, Prof. Priyadarshani Galappaththi said.
She told a press briefing at the Health Promotion Bureau in Colombo on Friday that people who suffer from Covid-19 should not take any antibiotics without consulting a doctor and they should not take steroids at all. Antibiotics are useless to fight a virus and it may cause allergies.
Taking steroids at an early stage may weaken immunity and there is a possibility of dying as a result.
She said that people vaccinated with all three doses of the vaccine and who contract Covid-19 can take two Paracetamol tablets, two or three times per day depending on their symptoms and gargle their mouth and throat with light warm salt water a few times a day. This reduces the viral load and discomfort. The patient also needs bed rest. They can take an antihistamine drug prescribed by a doctor.
Various expensive drugs now available for Covid-19 should not be taken because none of them had been clinically proven, she said.