Can Lemon juice be cure for respiratory problems?

Can Lemon juice be cure for respiratory problems?

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, April 30, 2021:       While the second wave of covid19 is raging all over India, quackery too seems to be having a field day.

 

The latest seems to be a fascination for a citrus fruit well known for its association with things good and evil! While hanging that with chillies is supposed to keep away evil eye, the same anointed with vermillion and after chanting appropriate mantras is to be means for black magic. Now, along with its role as a constituent of refreshing drinks of various types, the humble juice of the lemon has now gained a new reputation as a miracle cure for respiratory ailments. A few drops of it introduced into the nose is supposed to remove obstructions and improve oxygenation. A whatsapp forward of a video and also a news cutting of a Rao offering 50K to any one whose covid infection is not cured by a few drops it introduced into the nose and expelled through the mouth has been doing the rounds.

 

 

A transport cum newspaper baron once the blue eyed boy of the ruling party also conducted a press meet to extol the virtues of this alleged cure. While the malady to be cured was not mentioned the implications of what was meant were quite clear! The reason for that is an obscure act called as the Drugs and Magic remedies (objectionable) advertisements act, 1954 which makes it an offence for any claim to be made about any concoction, apparatus or even literature is a cure for a list of notified diseases. There is quite a long list and to this covid19 has been added in February, 2020! Since offences under the act are criminal and cognizable, one has to be cautious!

While the statements of others did not get much publicity the ones made by the media/transport baron got wide coverage particularly in the newspaper owned by him! While this could be dismissed as one of the many fads, the status of the person making the statement had some effect on the gullible. A few such lemon juice into nose parties, get togethers were conducted and also such was done to guests at functions like marriages! While topics like oxygenation of blood and the factors influencing them may be beyond the scope of discussion in a press note what is to be noted is that the claim was accepted without a shred of evidence and publicized too.

While the topic of oxygen carriage in blood would be for primary school students, the science behind that was not clear to a teacher himself! For, it was claimed that a teacher of a primary school from a village near Raichur passed away after squeezing some lemon juice into his nose or that was what was reported in the media! While it is claimed that this had nothing to do with the lime juice into the nasal cavity a number of experts are on record that the low BP claimed to be the cause for his death could be due to stimulation of the vagus nerve by what is called as the vaso-vagal shock. While these cures could be dismissed as harmless fads, the above example shows how ones mislead by such claims succumb. On the other hand the acceptance that there such a cure could lead to careless behavior by people who could harbor the impression that there was no need to fear the disease as it could be easily cured by an ingredient available anywhere.

Well if squeezing lemon juice into the nostrils could improve oxygen levels in blood for any reasons, we would demand some evidence for it! If anything were to be touted as a cure for covid19 it should be also subjected to rigorous tests and then only accepted. Because, it is easy to claim cures for self limiting diseases with a CFR of 2% or so because 98% of those who consume the concoction or anything else for that matter will be cured!

Well it has been claimed by some Ayurvedic specialists that the merits of this in the cure of respiratory ailments was well known. For this we have to take the example of P R Krishna Kumar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._R._Krishna_Kumar)the doyen of Ayurveda and a signatory for the protocols for prevention, cure and post recovery phase of covid19 by the ministry of AYUSH. He was suffering from a number of co-morbid conditions and passed away in September,2020 from yes you have guessed it- covid19! . In an attempt to find out the use of this so called remedy in traditional medicine Dr. Chatterji, the head of NITM, ICMR at Belgaum was asked for his views he stated that in his thirty five years of service he had not come across any such treatment and there was no reason for him to accept it without evidence.

Well is it not a criminal offence to spread such rumours? Does the government have the guts to prosecute this man for having spread them? Hardly a chance because of his clout and support from the members of the ruling clique.

By,

Narendra Nayak

Biochemist and President, Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations