Fact Check: Post claiming inhaling steam of orange peels and sea salt will kill coronavirus is fake

A viral post on social media claims that boiling orange peels, onion and sea salt and inhaling it for 15 minutes will kill coronavirus. Vishvas News investigated and found that the viral post is fake.

Claim

The post doing rounds on Facebook shared by a user named Sheryce Sanders Malone reads: “A natural remedy that kills coronavirus. Start pot of boiling water on stove. Cut peels of oranges or lemons or both – your choice. Add sea salt to pot of boiling water. Add orange or lemon peels to pot of boiling hot water. Boil on high for a few minutes. When water and ingredients in pot have been brought to a boil, turn down the heat, put your face down to pot and breathe in steam. Do this for 15 minutes or as much as you can stand.” The archived version of the post can be checked here.

Investigation

When Vishvas News started its investigation, we visited the ‘Advice for Public‘ page of World Health Organization (WHO) website. There was no mention of inhaling steam as coronavirus cure.

We further searched on the website of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on its page ‘How to protect yourself’. We didn’t find any such related information as mentioned in the viral post.

We also looked for viral claim on the page ‘Caring for Yourself at Home’ on the website of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There was no mention of the inhaling steam claim in the page.

Vishvas News spoke to Dr. Vimal N. Ayurveda doctor, Ministry of AYUSH. He said: “No, boiling orange peels, onion and sea salt and inhaling it for 15 minutes will not kill coronavirus. This is a fake claim. However, one can take preventive measures to protect themselves from coronavirus, but this no cure of the virus.”

The post is shared on Facebook by a user named Sheryce Sanders Malone. When we performed the social scanning of the user we found that the user is based out of Georgia.

Disclaimer: The #CoronavirusFacts database records fact-checks published since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic and its consequences are constantly evolving and data that was accurate weeks or even days ago might have changed. Remember to check the date when the fact-check you are reading was published before sharing it.