Faridabad's Sarvodaya Hospital has distanced itself from a video where one of its doctors suggests the usage of nebuliser machines for COVID-19 patients as an alternative to oxygen cylinders.
In the video, a person who identifies himself as Dr Alok and wearing scrubs featuring the logo of Sarvodaya hospital, advises the usage of nebuliser as an alternative to getting an oxygen tank for COVID-19 patients.
He advises using a nebuliser without adding any medicines in the medicine receptacle calling it "a trick to get oxygen supply". Dr Alok says, "once the patient wears the mask, the nebuliser can be switched on and it will take in oxygen from the air and supply it to the patient ensuring that patients and their families do not have to struggle to get oxygen cylinders and concentrators."
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BOOM spoke to a pulmonologist who rubbished the claim and said that the claim has no basis in science. The second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on India's healthcare system with patients struggling to find ICU beds and hospitals battling to keep patients alive in the face of dwindling oxygen supply.
Families of patients have been running around to get oxygen cylinders for their loved ones and social media has become saturated with requests for any information on oxygen supply.
It is in this background that the video has gone viral. The video has been widely shared on social media.
An archive of the post can be accessed here.
An archive of the post can be accessed here.
An archive of the post can be accessed here.
An archive of the post can be accessed here.
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BOOM also received the video with the claim on its WhatsApp helpline.
Fact Check
Sarvodaya Healthcare took to Twitter to distance itself from the video. In a statement, it said that the claim made by Dr Alok is not endorsed by the hospital and neither is it backed by scientific study or evidence. The hospital further said, "Do not fall prey to any information without any authorized source."
BOOM spoke with Dr Jeenam Shah, a pulmonologist at Mumbai's Wockhardt Hospital who termed the claims baseless and devoid of any scientific evidence.
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"This is absolute rubbish. Nebulisers are used by asthma patients and those with breathing difficulties. A nebuliser machine has a mask which has a holding chamber where you put in the medicine. The machine breaks down the liquid into smaller particles which can then travel to your lungs for bronchodilation so that the lungs and windpipe opens up," Dr Shah.
"When we are using a nebuliser without the medicine, it is as good as breathing normal air in which the oxygen level is going to be around 21%. There is absolutely no way that the nebuliser machine can produce oxygen more than that is there in our surroundings," Dr Shah added.
BOOM found no scientific studies on usage of nebulisers as substitute for oxygen concentrators or oxygen cylinders.