Health authorities warned that people should not eat or drink povidone-iodine, a'red drug' that has recently been shown to be effective in sterilizing the Corona 19 virus.



Povidone-iodine is the main ingredient in medicines that act as a sterilizing and disinfecting agent for external use, and is licensed in Korea as general medicines such as external preparations, throat (throat) sprays, and mouthwash.



When using it, it should be used only in areas marked for use in medicines, and should not be used for'oral use', such as putting it in the eyes or eating and drinking.



For example, external preparations should only be used to disinfect skin wounds and surgical areas.



Gargle is used for oral sterilization and prevention of pharyngeal and laryngitis infections, but it must be spit out without swallowing after brushing teeth with a solution diluted 15-30 times.



The throat spray is licensed to be used for oral disinfection, pharyngitis, laryngitis, stomatitis, disinfection after tooth extraction and oral surgery, and bad breath.



The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has been wary of excessive interpretation of povidone-iodine's anti-corona 19 virus inhibitory effect recently announced in Korea.



This study is the result of an In-Vitro cell experiment that was tested in a laboratory, because it does not confirm its clinical effect on humans.



He also explained that the clinical trials on whether povidone-iodine spray can prevent Corona 19 are currently in progress in the United States and Canada, but the clinical effect has not been clearly confirmed as the results have not yet come out.



Moreover, if you use povidone-iodine for a long period of time, you should be careful because iodine-induced thyroid malfunction may occur.



The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety advised not to use it in patients with thyroid dysfunction, kidney failure, iodine hypersensitivity, newborns, and infants under 6 months of age.



In particular, he stressed that it should not be eaten because it may cause epigastric pain, gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhea, tachycardia, and headaches in large doses.



(Photo = Provided by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Yonhap News)