How We Can Combat COVID-19 infection

There are documented research studies that show that COVID-19 infects humans through the nose and mouth.  While billions of dollars are being expended to develop vaccines to prevent COVID-19 infection, significant time to develop and prove the efficacy and safety of these vaccines are required.  This article is based upon research that shows that two of the major channels of COVID-19 infection can be significantly inhibited through two inexpensive and readily available methods.

We have witnessed President Trump ignoring CDC guidelines on wearing masks and maintaining social distancing at every public opportunity.  Trump had the best care our taxpayer dollars could buy when he went to Walter Reed for COVID-19 treatment.  Trump received experimental monoclonal antibodies, an experimental drug, remdesivir, and a very strong steroid, dexamethasone.  The two experimental drugs were approved for the treatment of Trump.  

Remdesivir was among four drugs evaluated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in a study of 11,000 patients from 400 hospitals around the globe.  The conclusion of the WHO study was that remdesivir shortened the hospital stay of COVID-19 patients by an average of 5 days, but did not reduce the number of deaths of patients getting standard treatment protocols.  The title of the article is Remdesivir and interferon fall flat in WHO’s megastudy of COVID-19 treatments

There are protocols that we can perform using materials that are available, inexpensive, and proven to be safe in helping each of us reduce or eliminate infection by COVID-19.  The CDC protocols on the use of masks, social distancing, and washing of hands are good, but not adequate to get control of COVID-19 outbreaks.  New rigorous scientific research has shown that there are two major avenues for COVID-19 infection that can drastically reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection.  These infections are those that occur through the nasal passages and the salivary glands in the mouth

Research at Penn State University has shown that COVID-19 entering through the nose can be largely eliminated by flushing of the nose with a 1% soap solution.  This research was published in The Journal of Medical Virology by Wiley Online Library under the title Lowering the transmission and spread of human coronavirus.  This is the summary statement of the research involving the use of irrigation of the nasal passages.

“Therefore, we decided to investigate the virucidal properties of several oral and nasopharyngeal rinses in vitro. These included common over‐the‐counter mouth wash/gargling products, a saline nasal rinse, and a 1% dilute solution of Johnson’s baby shampoo to be used as a nasal rinse. Surprisingly, we found that several of these common products had strong virucidal properties, inactivating from 2 log₁₀ (or 99%) to greater than 4 log₁₀ (or 99.99%) of infectious HCoV. Our studies indicate that these rinses could serve as a complement to other healthcare and public antiviral precautions.”

In order to flush the nose with the diluted soap solution, you can use a neti pot or a squeeze bulb that is available at the baby health section of your local supermarket.  The problem with neti pots, as discussed in the Penn State article, is that the commonly recommended salt water and baking soda liquid used to flush the nasal cavities does not do anything to kill viruses. 

However, a neti pot or baby squeeze bulb that contains 1% diluted soapy water will work as discussed above.  Because COVID-19 has a shell composed of fat particles, soapy water will dissolve the COVID-19 and render it ineffective in infecting the body.  The neti pot or a squeeze bulb should be thoroughly washed after use with concentrated soapy water.

The study also tested the effectiveness of mouthwash to decrease COVID-19 loading in the salivary glands located in the mouth.  Mouthwashes were 99.9% effective in killing the virus if used for 30 seconds.  The World Health Organization and Johnson & Johnson, maker of Listerine, have said that mouthwashes do not prevent infection from COVID-19. 

There are substantial amounts of contradictory statements regarding the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection.  A Johnson and Johnson subsidiary is planning on producing 1 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine if its research is proven to be safe and effective.  While the vaccine development programs are being executed, you can consider using these solutions.

Here is the link to the result of research showing that mouthwashes can destroy the COVID-19 stored in the saliva glands in the mouth.. The research concludes that the saliva glands may be the most significant source of infection by the virus for asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers.  Mouthwash has several proven antiviral compounds including ethanol, povidone-iodine and cetylpyridinium.

“Data from GTEX gene expression data indicate that angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2) (a key receptor for COVID-19) expression is higher in salivary glands than lungs, suggesting that these could be a major source of new viral particles.” 

Several pharmaceutical companies in the US and overseas are involved in “warp speed” development programs to create COVID-19 vaccines.  The previous normal time to develop a vaccine, prove its efficacy, and its long-term safety has been 8 to 10 years.  New tools are now available that have reduced the time to meet the verification required for release to the public to 2 to 4 years. 

The COVID-19 vaccine trials are being rushed to attempt validation in a period of six months to a year.  There is no way to establish long-term efficacy or safety data in a short period of time.  If the research data shows that using the nasal and salivary gland rinses prove effective, that approach will lower the risk of waiting to see how the various vaccines perform with regard to safety and efficacy.

Disclaimer:

The author is NOT a licensed medical doctor, or medical researcher, and has no financial or technical relationship with any of the researchers or vaccine suppliers.  The discussion of the use of fluids in the nasal cavities and salivary glands to inhibit COVID-19 infection is taken directly from the published research.  

No medical advice is intended or given beyond the content of the scientific studies.  Your decisions on how you use the information that has been provided are strictly your decisions.