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- New study says taking vitamin C and / or zinc does not reduce symptoms of COVID-19.
- Experts say there are no known effective therapies yet for home treatment of COVID-19.
- However, they hope that further research may lead to home remedies in the near future.
When it comes to fighting COVID-19 at home, high doses of vitamin C and zinc do not appear to alleviate symptoms or shorten the duration of illness.
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The study, led by a team at the Cleveland Clinic, asked whether high-dose zinc, high-dose ascorbic acid, and / or a combination of the two reduced the duration of COVID-19 symptoms.
“Treatment with zinc, ascorbic acid, or both does not affect the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2,” the study found.
Dr Suma Thomas, co-director of the study and a specialist in cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, said researchers had explored the issue both because of the long history of people claiming to fight colds with these supplements and to help. to the process of finding solutions at home to fight COVID-19.
“I’ve been fascinated by this for years,” Thomas told Healthline. “Now is the perfect time to study it.”
Despite the results, she said, the study serves one purpose: Those fighting COVID-19 at home won’t assume that supplements are a solution.
“These are very commonly taken,” Thomas said. “A lot of people have spent money on these things, and they maybe don’t. [much to help]. Everyone is talking about vitamin C and zinc. “
Now, she says, they will know that it does not affect the duration or severity of COVID-19.
“It’s good to look at the data like that,” she said. “People can now weigh the cost and possible side effects with the results and make an informed decision.”
So what is there to treat the early stages of COVID-19 at home?
“Honestly, there isn’t much,” Dr. Peter S. Staats, founder of the division of pain medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Md., Division chief, told Healthline. department for a decade.
Staats said he had tried the combination of vitamin C and zinc when battling a virus and found that at high doses “they caused a lot of side effects”, including nausea, and didn’t did not change the result much.
This means, he said, that there are currently few, if any, known therapies for COVID-19 that are sold over the counter and can be used at home.
He expects that to change.
“We’re going to have some rapidly evolving ‘living’ guidelines for COVID soon,” he said. “We need more for early treatment.”
Dr Brian Thomas Garibaldi, director of the Johns Hopkins Biological Containment Unit and associate professor of medicine, said he was not surprised at the study’s results.
“There has been conflicting evidence [around the two supplements] for years, ”he says.
Having just left the ICU floor to speak to Healthline, Garibaldi said that at the front line they were hoping for “a clear way to keep people out of the hospital.” I wish we had a magic solution.
It won’t be an easy find, he says.
“It’s pretty clear that there is no silver bullet for these things,” he said.
Why are we still waiting for these advances?
Staats and Garibaldi both point out that the focus has been on other issues during most of the pandemic.
“We are just reaching our first anniversary of having our first patient here,” Garibaldi said. “In some ways it feels fast and in others it feels like a lifetime.”
The reality is, he says, in medical time it has been swift.
Staats agrees, stating that “the vast majority [of focus] was about not getting sick and knowing how to handle hospital admissions. “
Now everyone agrees, it’s time to find more solutions for early stage COVID-19 as well as long-haul therapy.
In short, not much is available at the moment.
But there are steps those fighting COVID-19 at home can take, with the support of medical professionals, even though all we have now, as Garibaldi said, is “care. symptomatic support ”.
The first option is available in every house: water and other liquids.
“Stay hydrated,” Garibaldi said. “It makes a big difference.”
He also suggests trying the best you can to cope with your fever.
“Fevers aren’t always a bad thing,” he says.
He suggested not treating the fever with over-the-counter medications until you feel “miserable.”
There are also tools to help you.
Having a pulse oximeter on hand can help people being treated at home stay on top of their condition and keep their healthcare team informed.
Staats was part of a team that recently obtained emergency use clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new treatment to use at home or in a healthcare facility to treat people with difficulties. respiratory systems related to asthma.
The gammaCore SapphireTM CV (non-invasive vagus nerve stimulator) can be used by people with known or suspected COVID-19 who experience asthma-related breathing difficulties and reduced airflow.
The wearable device sends gentle electrical stimulation through the skin to non-invasively stimulate the vagus nerve and appears to improve airflow.
It requires a prescription.
However, the FDA has issued a
In the meantime, the public will have to wait for breakthroughs in home care for COVID-19.
But the timing may be faster, experts agree, with all that has been learned during the pandemic year.
“COVID, in general, has accelerated [medical research and outcomes] 10 to 15 years old, ”Staats said.
He expects to see a lot of studies like the zinc study and also expects the developing guidelines to be “alive”.
In other words, they can change and change as we learn.
But learn we will, Staats said, because we have no other choice.
“We have to have a plan,” he said, “and we need it soon.”
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