Doctors rubbish 'absurd' warm water cure for asthma, epilepsy shared on Facebook

"Warning from Japan!!! A group of doctors from Japan has discovered that drinking warm water will cure certain health conditions 100%," reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post shared on May 19.

"Drink 4 glasses of warm water on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. Make sure you don't eat anything for 45 minutes after drinking water. If you follow this step daily, you will find that most of your health conditions are cured."

The post claims that drinking warm water every day can cure nearly 20 health conditions, including migraines, epilepsy, heart conditions, asthma and high cholesterol, in between 10 days to nine months.

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Screenshot of the post captured on October 19, 2023

Similar Facebook posts shared the baseless advice here and here, with many social media users appearing to fall for the claim.

"Western doctors and their medicine are actually making us sick and manufacturing illnesses. The cure for most of our ailments have been right here with us all along," one Facebook user commented.

Another wrote that they "will be trying" the remedy, adding: "Increasingly I am realising these pharmaceutical companies and our doctors are in this together. The advice has been as simple as drinking warm water."

AFP previously debunked Facebook posts circulating in Thailand in late 2022 that claimed Japanese doctors had found that drinking warm water could cure a host of diseases.

SaVanna Shoemaker, a dietitian registered in the United States, said at the time that she had found "very little research and no peer-reviewed studies on Japanese water therapy".

Facebook posts spreading health misinformation have previously attributed their baseless claims to "Japanese doctors", including posts that claimed drinking water could cure cancer or prevent coronavirus.

'Absurd claim'

Speaking in October 2023, Professor Vajira Dissanayake, president of the Sri Lanka Medical Council said it was "absurd" to claim that drinking warm water could cure the illnesses listed in the posts.

While water is essential to maintain health, it was "completely false" to claim that drinking water could cure conditions like cardiac issues in a matter of days, he told AFP.

The conditions listed in the false posts all required examination and treatment, he added, urging the public to seek medical advice if they suffered from them.

Dr Duminda Munidasa, president of the Sri Lanka College of Physicians echoed Dissanayake's comments, noting that most of the conditions listed in the posts had no cure.

"There is no credible, scientific evidence to confirm this claim," he told AFP.

"The solution is never as simple as drinking water water."

Dr. L. P. A. Karunathilake, a senior lecturer of indigenous medicine at the University of Colombo, also rebuked the Facebook posts.

Although warm water had health benefits, such as helping digestion, it was "extremely misleading" to claim it could cure certain health conditions, he said on October 19.

"Alternative medicine does not promote such one-size-its-all cures - our treatment regimens always take on a holistic approach," he added.