New Delhi: Days after Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath suffered a mild stroke, thoracic surgeon Dr CS Pramesh, a director of the Tata Memorial Hospital asked him not to fall for influencers without a "science background." Pramesh suggestions to Kamath come after Shankar Sharma, a social media influencer and entrepreneur, provided post-stroke rehabilitation tip to Kamath, which several online doctors have refuted.

‘How Life-threatening Social Media Can Be’

Re-sharing Shankar Sharma's post on X (formerly Twitter), Dr CS Pramesh said, "A thread that demonstrates how life-threatening social media can be... Please don't follow random 'influencers' who don't have true science to back them beyond 'Trust me bro'".

Dr Pramesh underlined the importance of acknowledging that despite good intentions, poorly researched advice has the potential to cause more harm than good.

"While some may have malicious or mercenary intentions, I largely believe in the inherent goodness of the human race and generally give the benefit of the doubt that folks are well-intentioned when they give advice. But ill-researched "expert" advice can do more harm than good. Beware," he wrote.

How Doctors Reacted to Influencer's Suggestion to Kamath

Besides Dr Pramesh, several other doctors also rejected Sharma's post-stroke recovery recommendations. Here's how doctors reacted to Shankar Sharma's suggestions.

Dr Sudhir Kumar, based in Hyderabad at Apollo Hospitals, shared an extensive post debunking the recommendations made by the influencer. "The treatments recommended by Mr Shankar Sharma are anecdotal and there is no evidence to support their effectiveness in post-stroke recovery," he wrote.

Reacting to the viral post, Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, known as The Liver Doctor on X, talked about the Dunning-Kruger Effect. He said, "Dunning-Kruger Effect: Awareness of the limitations of cognition (thinking) requires proficiency in metacognition (thinking about thinking). In other words, being stupid makes you too stupid to realize how stupid you are," he wrote.  

On the other hand, Bengaluru-based senior cardiologist Dr Deepak Krishnamurthy quoted Nithin Kamath's old post on sleep deprivation and wrote, "There needs to be time to relax, unwind and sleep. For all that you need spare time."

What Shankar Sharma Had Suggested?

“Nithin, Please immediately do these ( believe me, medical science has nothing to offer beyond initial hospital care). 1. Get a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber and start 1 hour per day. 2. Buy Red Infrared therapy device, available on Amazon ( take around 60 watts or more or ask Nikhil to message me, will send him one more powerful one. IR is critical in brain rehab. Safe, non invasive. Plenty of research. 3. Immediately start on 5 grams of highest quality krill oil Omega 3 capsules + Brahmi. Again, plenty of research. Act fast. You have a window of a few weeks to completely rehabilitate yourself. Nikhil has my number and he can immediately send me a message.”