Drinking water does not prevent coronavirus infection

Drinking water is one of the primary ways to treat viral infections. But could it also prevent infections from the 2019 coronavirus?  Health experts say no.

One popular Facebook post prescribes "a few sips of water every 15 minutes" for people who want to avoid the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19. The post includes a diagram of a lung and a long paragraph of medical advice attributed to "Japanese doctors treating COVID-19 cases."

"Even if the virus gets into your mouth … drinking water or other liquids will WASH them down through your esophagus and into the stomach," the photo reads. "Once there in tummy … your stomach ACID will kill all the virus. If you don’t drink enough water more regularly … the virus can enter your windpipes and into the LUNGS."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) It has been shared hundreds of times.

(Screenshot from Facebook)

A good rule of thumb is that if an online medical cure sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Such is the case with this Facebook post, which has been debunked by several other media outlets.

While health experts recommend drinking water regularly to stay healthy, there is no evidence that sipping some every 15 minutes can help prevent coronavirus infection. 

The primary way the virus spreads is through close contact with infected people and respiratory droplets, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When someone with the coronavirus coughs or sneezes, their germs land on surfaces around them. The virus then infects people who touch those surfaces and then their eyes, nose and mouth.

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So to prevent contracting the coronavirus, the CDC advises people to avoid touching their face as much as possible. Other ways to prevent infection include washing your hands with soap and water, covering your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and regularly sanitizing the surfaces in your home or at your workstation. As of now, there is no specific treatment for the virus.

In a tweet published Feb. 7, the World Health Organization in the Philippines said it does not advise people to drink water as a way to avoid coronavirus infection.

As of March 11, the 2019 coronavirus had infected more than 118,000 people in 113 countries. In the United States, there have been 938 confirmed cases and 31 deaths.

The Facebook post is inaccurate. We rate it False.