online. there is no evidence that saline nasal rinses help prevent covid-19. temperature a world health organization infographic dispelling the myth that hot and humid weather prevents the spread of the virus. cold weather and snow do not kill the covid-19 virus. the virus lives in humans, not in the outdoors, though it can survive on surfaces. even in cold weather, the body will stay at 36.5–37 degrees celsius inside, and the covid-19 virus will not be killed. hot and humid conditions do not prevent covid-19 from spreading, either. there have been many covid-19 cases in countries with hot and humid climates. drinking warm water or hot baths/heating to 26–27 °c (79–81 °f) will not cure people of covid-19. it has been claimed that these statements were made by unicef in coronavirus prevention guidelines, but unicef officials refuted this. high temperatures cannot be used on humans to kill the covid-19 virus. taking very hot baths can cause burns, but the body will stay at 36.5–37 degrees celsius inside, and the covid-19 virus will not be killed. hot saunas and hand or hair dryers do not prevent or treat covid-19. steam inhalation was suggested as a cure for coronavirus infection that circulated on facebook. radiation uv-c light being used to sterilize equipment in a laboratory. uv-c cannot be used to disinfect people as it can damage the skin and eyes. exposing people to sunlight will not prevent or cure covid-19. it has been falsely claimed that unicef said so, in coronavirus prevention guidelines; unicef officials refuted this. the virus can spread in even the sunniest of weather. uv-c light cannot be used on humans to kill the covid-19 virus. attempting to use uv to sterilize people can cause skin irritation and damage the eyes. other disinfection-related methods white color does not have a 'harmful effect' on coronavirus, as claimed in a widely shared facebook post; nor does the colour of a handkerchief have an effect on the virus, according to ashan pathirana, the registrar of sri lanka's health promotion bureau (hpb). using handkerchiefs or tissues of other colours to sneeze or cough into will be just as effective. posts on social media claimed that volcanic ash from the eruption of the taal volcano on january 12, 2020, in the philippines was the cause of low infection rates in the country, stating that it could kill the virus and had "anti-viral" and "disinfectant qualities". drinking bleach is extremely dangerous and will not protect against covid-19. bleach is poisonous and damages internal organs. drinking it can cause disability and death. the who has warned not to drink the substance. protective equipment usb flash drives were being sold for $370 as a "5g bioshield", purportedly offering protection from the non-existent threat of infection transmitted via 5g mobile telephone radio waves. over 34,000 counterfeit surgical masks—which may have been touted for as coronavirus prevention—were seized by europol in march 2020. making masks out of wet-wipes has not been officially recommended as an alternative to surgical masks, contrary to some claims. some public health authorities have issued directions for making and using homemade cloth face masks. see face masks during the covid-19 pandemic. aerosol boxes—acrylic boxes placed over patient's heads during aerosol generating such as intubation—can potentially increase dispersal of covid-containing aerosol particles if a patient coughs. drugs of abuse methanol has one carbon atom (dark grey). it is immediately poisonous; a single dose can cause blindness, brain and spinal cord damage, and death. blackmarket alcoholic drinks may contain methanol.ethanol has two carbon atoms (dark grey). ethanol should not be confused with methanol. ethanol-containing drinks are widely consumed as the main ingredient in alcoholic beverages. ingestion doesn't prevent covid-19, and may cause subclinical immunosuppression. a mix containing amphetamines, cocaine, and nicotine, on sale on the dark web for us$300, was presented as a vaccine against covid-19. cocaine does not protect against covid-19. several viral tweets purporting that snorting cocaine would sterilize one's nostrils of the coronavirus spread around europe and africa. in response, the french ministry of health released a public service announcement debunking this claim, saying "no, cocaine does not protect against covid-19. it is an addictive drug that causes serious side effects and is harmful to people’s health." the world health organization also debunked the claim. facebook flagged the rumour as misinformation. a claim that cannabis could protect against the coronavirus appeared on youtube, along with a petition to legalize cannabis in sri lanka. sri lankan health authorities pointed out that there was no evidence that cannabis protected against covid-19. a fake webpage purporting to be a fox news article also claimed that cbd oil was a potential cure. chloroform and ether-based drug loló was said to cure the disease in messages spread in brazil. boiled betel leaves will not cure covid-19. industrial methanol was claimed to cure the coronavirus. drinking alcohol is ethanol, while methanol is acutely poisonous. the who has warned not to drink ethanol or methanol in an effort to kill the virus. iranian media were reporting nearly 300 dead and 1000 hospitalized (or 600 dead and 3,000 hospitalized, according to an unidentified doctor in the health ministry) as of april 8, 2020. alcoholic beverages are illegal in iran, resulting in a black market in liquor made illegally; while drinking alcohol is ethanol, other alcohols, such as methanol, are acutely poisonous, and may be present in badly prepared alcoholic beverages. contrary to some reports, drinking ethyl alcohol also does not protect against covid-19, and can increase health risks (short term and long term). commercial products homeopathic globuli (sugar pills) do not make people immune to covid-19. there are many fraudulent and unproven products that are claimed to treat or protect against covid-19. "virus shut out protection" pendants, supposedly from japan, worn around one's neck, have been sold with claims that they prevent infection. the u.s. environmental protection agency said that no evidence had been presented that they work, and took legal action against importers. a twitter post claimed that scientists from the "australian medical university" had developed a vaccine for the coronavirus. it accepted 0.1 bitcoin as payment for a vaccination kit and promised shipping in 5–10 days. the linked website was later removed. homeopathic 'influenza complex' has been marketed as a preventive measure for covid-19 by a man in new zealand, who claimed to have identified and imbued his product with the "frequency" of covid-19 using a "radionics machine". homeopathic remedies such as this one have no active ingredients and cannot protect against flu, colds, or covid-19, said university of auckland associate professor and microbiologist dr siouxsie wiles. the nz ministry of health said that covid-19 was not a strain of flu, and criticized products which claim to prevent covid-19 as giving dangerous false confidence. homeopathic treatment with arsenicum album is claimed as an "add on" to prevent covid-19. a person living in california marketed pills for curing coronavirus, although the contents of the pill were not made public. he was arrested for attempted fraud, which carries up to 20 years of prison. colloidal silver is falsely marketed as a cure for covid-19 infection. claims that colloidal silver solution can kill over 650 pathogens including coronavirus prompted antifraud actions. the national center for complementary and integrative health warned on their website against taking colloidal silver as dietary supplement. seven warning letters were filed to companies for selling fraudulent products. preacher jim bakker had been claiming that the colloid silver he sold (and only his) could be used to treat covid-19. colloidal silver is not an effective treatment for anything, and may interfere with other medications or cause permanent argyria (blue-gray skin discoloration). toothpastes, dietary supplements and creams were being sold illegally in the us, with claims that they could cure coronavirus infection. alex jones was directed by the usfda to cease promoting these products as a cure. celebrity chef pete evans claimed that a device called the biocharger ng subtle energy platform, costing us$14,990, could cure the coronavirus. he faced backlash, taking down his advertisement after the australian medical association dismissed the product as a "fancy light machine". the australian distributors, hydrogen technologies pty ltd, stated the device would help "open the airways of coronavirus victims by reducing the inflammation it causes in the lungs" as well as other unproven therapeutic claims. evans was fined au$25,200 by the therapeutic goods administration for his false claims. "miracle mineral solution" (mms) is a mixture of sodium chlorite (with table salt and some other trace minerals) and an acid, which reacts with the sodium chlorite to produces a solution of unstable chlorous acid, which becomes chlorite, chlorate, and chlorine dioxide, an industrial bleach. the fda has warned against using it, saying there is no evidence that it cures, prevents, or treats covid-19, and that it is seriously hazardous to health. the "genesis ii church" calls its mail-order mms a "sacrament", and when warned by the fda that their claims that it could cure covid-19 were fraudulent, vehemently refused to stop making them, saying the fda had no authority over them, and they would never stop. their status as a religious organization was disputed in a successful filing for a temporary restraining order on grounds of public safety, by the u.s. attorney's office in south florida. shuanghuanglian, a mixture of plants invented in the 1960s as part of official state-sponsored tcm (traditional chinese medicine), was advertised by the xinhua news agency as being able to treat the coronavirus. posts on weibo claimed that many people violated social distancing rules while queuing to buy it. some attributed the news stories to stock market manipulation. jennings ryan staley, a licensed physician and owner of skinny beach med spa, was accused of selling mail-order "covid-19 treatment packs", claiming they would protect against covid-19 for six weeks and cure it "100%", causing the disease to disappear in hours. he has been arrested and is being "vigorously investigated" by the fbi; if convicted, he may face 20 years in prison. a hand cream sold by the right-wing populist party leader of the party greek solution, kyriakos velopoulos, via his tv shop, is claimed to completely kill covid-19, although it is not approved by medical authorities. an "anti-coronavirus" mattress was advertised as being anti-fungal, anti-allergic, dustproof and waterproof and able to fight the coronavirus. mohanan vaidyar, a self-proclaimed naturopath, was arrested in kerala for claiming that he can cure covid-19 and treating people. methylene chloride, historically used as a paint stripper, was being marketed on ebay as a coronavirus disinfectant. it had been previously banned by the u.s. environmental protection agency due to the risk of asphyxiation during use. chlorine dioxide tablets and sanitizers were marketed on amazon. a purportedly anti-virus lanyard called shut out resulted in the criminal conviction of a georgia woman for violating the u.s. insecticide, fungicide, and rodenticide act. traditional chinese medicine china officially promotes the use of traditional chinese medicine (tcm) to treat covid-19. many academic papers, such as shi et al., have been published trying to establish the effectiveness of various decoctions such as qingfei paidu decoction. most of the western media hold a skeptical attitude about its effectiveness, despite many positive accounts. there is much ongoing research trying to identify the effective ingredients for treating covid-19 from inspirations from the tcm methods. traditional persian medicine various studies have been conducted and reported on the effect of traditional persian medicine formulas on the sars-cov-2. these treatments have been studied in various clinical trials in iran. botanical claims the poisonous fruit of the datura plant was claimed by some to be effective against coronavirus because it physically resembles the virus's virion. the poisonous fruit of the datura plant was falsely promoted as a preventive measure for covid-19, which resulted in eleven people being hospitalized in india. they ate the fruit, following the instructions from a tiktok video that propagated the misinformation. the fruit was claimed to be effective on the grounds that it resembles the coronavirus virion. a complex sri lankan herbal drink was said to remedy all virus infections which can affect humans, including covid-19, with reposts circulating widely on facebook. the drink might reduce fever symptoms, but this might lead to the infected person infecting other people, and the mixture could have long-term health complications, according to l. p. a. karunathilake,