Samantha blasted Liver Doc for advocating hydrogen peroxide nebulisation: What is it & what’s his problem with it

For the past few weeks, actor Samantha has been churning out episodes from her health and wellness podcast Take 20. In free-wheeling conversations with wellness coach and functional nutrition Alkesh Sharotri, the episodes feature Samantha delving into her own tedious health and wellness journey. A huge part of this said journey, triggered her myositis diagnosis, has seen Samantha take to multiple forms of alternative therapy, glimpses and benefits of which she has been sharing more than eagerly with her millions of followers. A similar suggestion Samantha recently made with regards to hydrogen peroxide nebulisation however, has landed her in a heated online exchange with certified healthcare professional Dr Cyriac Ab Philips, who goes the online persona of The Liver Doc. What has been going down between Samantha and Dr Philips is essentially the real-life manifestation of the allopathy vs alternative medicine debate, an ideological divide that seems to be quite impossible to fill. But what exactly is Samantha advocating and why does the Liver Doc want her thrown in jail for it? Samantha recently advocated for hydrogen peroxide nebulisation as a potential treatment for common viral(Instagram) Samantha Ruth Prabhu advocates for hydrogen peroxide nebulisation as an option to treat common viral (Instagram) Hydrogen peroxide nebulisation, for as intense as the name sounds, is actually a rather simple process. To begin with, a nebuliser is a medical device that changes liquid medication to m allowing the patient to inhale the same. What Samantha suggested on her stories, as advised her doctor and DRDO veteran Mitra Basu Chhillar was to inhale a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and dilled water to treat ‘common viral’. What appears to have got the goat of the Liver Doc is the fact that Samantha affirmatively advocated this over taking typical medication. As per the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) — whose findings were also cited Dr Philips in his rage-fueled note directed at Samantha — hydrogen peroxide nebulisation has been termed as “dangerous” and not a way to prevent or treat COVID-19, key symptoms of which overlap quite a bit with common viral. Another diagnosis that hydrogen peroxide nebulisation is usually associated with is COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), COPD is a lung disease characterised “restricted airflow and breathing problems”. The Food and Drug Adminration (FDA) however, has not authorised hydrogen peroxide nebulisation for any kind of medical use whatsoever, as per a Medical News Today report. The same report ls the hazards of inhaling hydrogen peroxide as: nose, throat and lung irritation, pulmonary edema and potentially fatal buildup of fluid in the lungs. Ingesting solutions containing hydrogen peroxide (as is the case with nebulisation) can result in vomiting and irritation of the liungs and gastrointestinal system. Tissue burns and gas embolism leading to strokes are other potential impacts of inhaling and or ingesting the gas, concludes the report. Samantha has now responded to the Liver Doc’s allegations with a formally-worded letter, clearing how her advocacy for hydrogen peroxide nebulisation was actually well-meaning advice. She clears how the tip was essentially directed at those who don’t have the funds to continually partake in mainstream medication, her own experience with which has not delivered very many results for her. While her note entertained the idea of Dr Philips and her own doctor engaging in a fruitful debate to reach an amicable conclusion, she appears to have doubled down on her stance sharing several links on her Instagram stories which also advocate the alleged benefits of hydrogen peroxide. Dr Philips has already hit back at Samantha’s open letter, referring to her as a “serial offender” when it comes to healthcare misinformation, also accusing her of playing the victim card. As this controversy continues to simmer, it is worth mentioning that one must necessarily avoid trying their hand at any ‘hacks’ related to health and fitness found on the internet, irrespective of the name endorsing them. One should only approach medicine, mainstream or alternate, after extensively consulting with certified healthcare professionals.