Chairperson for Covid-19 Presidential Taskforce Dr. John Phuka has warned against the use of herbal concoctions to treat Coronavirus saying that they disrupt the work of internal organs such as kidneys and livers.

During the second wave of the virus, people in the country, have resorted to use blue-gum for steaming to treat the virus.

Others are using ginger, lemon and other herbals.

Phuka, said that it is important for a Covid-19 patient to have normal balanced diet and avoid large consumption of herbals.

“We need to report early for good treatment outcomes. For those that have severe form of the disease, please do not treat yourselves at home. Care for COVID-19 severe cases requires specialized high attention approaches that are almost unattainable in home settings,” he said.

Phuka added; “Further, it is also important to have normal balanced diet when infected by COVID-19 and avoid large consumption of herbal concoctions that contain a mix of chemicals like alkaloids. These herbs stress important organs like the liver and the kidneys as well as increasing demand of sugar or disrupting sugar control,” said Phuka.

Phuka has therefore asked people to ensure that their diet is simple enough to meet you daily needs and meet increased demand of energy due to the disease as well as maintaining good rehydration by drinking water.

“This allows the body to focus on fight and clearing the virus form your body with minimal disruption,” he said.

He has also asked people to avoid self-medication or moving from one pharmacy to the other searching for un approved drugs. Similar herbs unregulated drug consumption may lead to liver and or kidney failure that may have same consequences as the herbs.