- A new study says that taking vitamin C and / or zinc does not lessen the symptoms of COVID-19.
- Experts say there are no known effective therapies for home treatment of COVID-19 yet.
- However, they hope that further research could lead to some 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 decrease symptoms or shorten the duration of the disease.
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The study, led by a team at the Cleveland Clinic, asked whether high doses of zinc, high doses of ascorbic acid and / or a combination of the two reduce the duration of symptoms of COVID-19.
“Treatment with zinc, ascorbic acid or both does not affect the symptoms of SARS-CoV-2,” concluded the study.
Dr. Suma Thomas, co-director of the study and a specialist in cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, said the researchers explored the issue because of the long history of people who claim to fight colds with these supplements, as well as contributing to the process of finding homemade solutions to combat COVID-19.
“I’ve been fascinated by him for years,” Thomas told Healthline. “This is a great time to study it.”
Despite the results, she said, the study has a purpose: those who may be fighting COVID-19 at home do not assume that supplements are a solution.
“These are very commonly taken,” said Thomas. “Many people have been spending money on these things and may not [much to help]. Everywhere, everyone has been talking about vitamin C and zinc. “
Now, she said, 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 handle the early stages of COVID-19 at home?
“Honestly, there’s not much,” said Dr. Peter S. Staats, founder of the Division of Pain Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Maryland, who served as division head of that department for a decade, to Healthline.
Staats said he tried a combination of vitamin C and zinc when battling a virus and found that in high doses, “they caused many side effects”, including nausea, and did not change the outcome much.
That means, he said, at the moment, there are few, if any, known therapies for COVID-19 that are sold over the counter and that can be used at home.
He hopes this will change.
“We will have rapidly evolving ‘living’ guidelines for COVID soon,” he said. “We need more for early treatment.”
Dr. Brian Thomas Garibaldi, director of the Johns Hopkins Biocontainment Unit and an associate professor of medicine, said he was not surprised by the results of the study.
“There has been conflicting evidence [around the two supplements] for years, ”he said.
Having just left the ICU floor to speak to the Healthline, Garibaldi said that, on the front lines, they expect “a clear way to keep people out of the hospital. I wish we had a magic bullet. “
It won’t be an easy find, he said.
“It is quite clear that there is no cure for all of these things,” he said.
Why are we still waiting for these discoveries?
Both Staats and Garibaldi point out that the focus has been on other issues during most of the pandemic.
“We are approaching our one-year anniversary of receiving our first patient here,” said Garibaldi. “In some ways, it seems fast and in others, it seems like a long time ago.”
The reality is, he said, in medical times, it has been fast.
Staats agrees, saying that “the vast majority [of focus] it has been about how not to get sick and how to deal with hospitalizations ”.
Now, everyone agrees, it’s time to find more solutions for the early stages of COVID-19, as well as therapies for long-haul trucks.
In short, there is not much available at the moment.
But there are measures that those who fight COVID-19 at home can take, with the support of medical professionals, even if everything we have now, as Garibaldi said, is “symptomatic supportive care”.
The first option is available in all homes: water and other liquids.
“Stay hydrated,” said Garibaldi. “It makes a big difference.”
It also suggests that you try to live as well as possible with the fever.
“Fever is not always a bad thing,” he said.
He suggested not treating your fever with over-the-counter drugs until you “feel awful”.
There are tools available to help as well.
Having a pulse oximeter on hand can help those being treated at home to stay up to date on their condition, as well as keeping their medical staff informed.
Staats was part of a team that recently obtained emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new therapy to be used at home or in a health setting to treat people who are experiencing asthma-related breathing difficulties.
GammaCore SapphireTM CV (noninvasive vagus nerve stimulator) can be used by people with known or suspected COVID-19 who are experiencing asthma-related breathing difficulties and reduced airflow.
The portable device sends a mild electrical stimulation through the skin to non-invasively stimulate the vagus nerve and appears to improve airflow.
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In the meantime, the public will have to wait for advances in home care for COVID-19.
But the moment may be faster, experts agree, with all that was learned in the pandemic year.
“COVID, in general, has accelerated [medical research and outcomes] for 10 to 15 years, ”said Staats.
He hopes to see many studies like the study of zinc and also hopes that the development guidelines will be “alive”.
In other words, they can and do change as more is learned.
But we will learn, said Staats, because we have no other choice.
“We need to have a plan,” he said, “and we need it soon.”