Can Snorting or Gargling Iodine Help Prevent COVID-19? Experts Explain Why NOT to Try This Internet Trend

Photo credit: Hola Images - Getty Images
Photo credit: Hola Images - Getty Images

Ever since the pandemic began, people have been searching for at-home remedies to prevent COVID-19. And, while ordering veterinary doses of ivermectin has been a thing for a while, despite evidence showing it is not effective, people are now apparently shifting to gargling iodine and even using it as a nasal spray to help ward off the virus.

A person who identifies themselves as an ER doctor on Twitter wrote the following alongside a photo of various vitamins: “Don’t get Covid. Prophylaxis is not that hard. Also nasal spray with a couple of drops betadine in it. And gargle with original Listerine.” (Bentadine, in case you’re not familiar with it, is a brand name for povidone iodine.)

People in the comments had plenty of questions about how, exactly, to do this. But…is it safe to gargle iodine or use it as a nasal spray? Here’s what the experts say.

First, what is povidone iodine?

Povidone iodine “is an antiseptic and is used routinely to sterilize skin,” says infectious disese expert Amesh A. Adalja, M.D., a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. It’s often used for wound care and is commonly available in stores as a 10% solution in water. It’s also used as a surgical scrub or skin cleanser.

Why are people gargling with povidone iodine to prevent COVID-19?

There is some research to suggest that gargling with povidone iodine can lower the viral load of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in people who are already infected with COVID-19. But there is no evidence that it can prevent you from getting the virus, Dr. Adalja says.

One study, which was published in JAMA in February, had 24 adults with COVID-19 gargle with different solutions and swab the solutions inside their noses. One solution included povidone iodine. They were encouraged to continue this practice four times a day for five days. The researchers found that people who used povidone iodine had less infectious SARS-CoV-2 in their noses and throats after being treated. Of the patients treated with povidone iodine, 42% also developed thyroid dysfunction. Those levels went down after the treatment was over. They also had “unpleasant nasal tingling” from the solution.

The researchers concluded that using povidone iodine “may reduce the carriage of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in adults with mild to moderate COVID-19,” meaning they may have less of the virus in their noses and throats when they’re already infected. Still, the researchers didn’t really find that povidone iodine use changed the dynamics of the virus people carried, Dr. Adalja says, pointing out that the researchers also wrote that the use of povidone iodine “had no influence” on how much of the virus people had in their bodies over time.

The ingredient has come up before, but neither time with any recommendations that can translate to a person at home. A letter to the editor published in BMC in October 2020 proposed using povidone iodine in patients who are undergoing procedures in their lungs or stomachs to lower the risk that they’ll infect healthcare workers with COVID-19. Earlier, a lab study published in JAMA in September 2020 found that povidone iodine “rapidly” inactivated SARS-CoV-2 in a culture in as little as 15 seconds.

However, it can be difficult to translate the findings from lab studies into how they will impact people who are going about their daily lives, says William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “There are lots of interesting lab studies that never work out in the real world,” he points out.

So, does povidone iodone work against COVID?

In short, no. The manufacturer behind Betadine Antiseptic Sore Throat Gargle specifically addresses questions online about whether its product can help kill COVID-19, writing that, “Betadine Antiseptic products have not been demonstrated to be effective for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 or any other viruses.”

The research just isn’t there, Dr. Schaffner says: There has been no proven use of povidone iodine for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in clinical trials in people. “We have a theoretical reason that it could work, but one would have to figure out the frequency of the gargling and why it might even be useful. Some people might think, ‘I’ll do it before I go to a concert or out to a bar,’ but none of that has been shown to work."

Plus, in addition to the thyroid issues experienced by study subjects, povidone iodine can be toxic if you accidentally drink it. “You want to make sure people don’t swallow that stuff,” Dr Schaffner says.

Even if you “just” gargle with povidone iodine or use it in your nose, Dr. Adalja says it won’t keep you from getting COVID-19. “This is not a COVID-19 preventative measure or something that should be used for that purpose,” he says. Richard Watkins, M.D., an infectious disease physician and professor of internal medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University, agrees. “If people want to prevent COVID, they should get the vaccine,” he says.

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