COVID-19: What should we know

 The first question that arises in our minds is actually which type of virus is coronavirus? According to WHO, the COVID-19 is a respiratory virus i.e, the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 belonging to the Coronaviridae family. This virus exists as an enveloped, positive-strand RNA virus. Coronaviridae and Orthocoronavirinae, are the common names of Coronavirus, also called Coronavirinae. Other types of viruses that belong to this family include:

Alphacoronavirus

Betacoronavirus

Gammacoronavirus

Deltacoronavirus

Duvinacovirus

Minunacovirus

Pedacovirus

Rhinacovirus

Setracovirus

Embecovirus

Merbecovirus

 The fact that it is a virus, antibiotics cannot be used for its treatment. What makes it complicated to diagnose is that the patient may also develop a bacterial infection along with COVID-19, so the physician may propose antibiotics for it.

The COVID-19 virus is principally transmitted by droplets of the affected person when he is speaking, sneezing, or coughing, or basically through droplets of bodily fluids like that of saliva or discharge from the nose. One can also contract the virus when touching his eyes, nose, mouth, or skin prior to washing his hands after coming in contact with the contaminated surface.

The chance of contracting the virus through shoes is quite low but it may be avoided as a precaution and until now no information verifies the transmission of COVID-19 through houseflies or through food and food packaging. For your protection, sanitize your hands, avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth, decontaminate the frequently touched surfaces and keep one-meter space from people as a precautionary measure.

Now, this question pops into our minds: are there any medicines or herbs that can help us avoid contracting COVID-19 in the first place? The answer might be in a ratio of 50:50. As this virus causes breathing issues, the vaccines used for the treatment of respiratory illnesses are highly recommended. Pneumococcal vaccine and Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) vaccine are common vaccines against pneumonia but they do not provide effective protection against this virus. WHO is supporting the researchers to develop a particular vaccine because the virus is quite new and requires a vaccine of its own which isn’t developed yet. There are several drug trials going on but there is no such evidence that hydroxychloroquine can help treat or prevent COVID-19 whereas its misuse or overuse may cause side effects or may even prove fatal. Whereas the facts that adding pepper to the soup, using alcohol, rinsing the nose with saline, eating garlic although it has antimicrobial properties, are all myths and there is no evidence or information to this date that these mentioned facts have helped cure or treat infected people.

However, a recent study claims otherwise.

According to this study of Frontiers of Pharmacology, although several therapeutic molecules are under trial, there is no effective vaccination or particular treatment generated this far. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, several traditional herbal medicines with effective results might be used alone or along with conventional drugs for the treatment of infected patients. They reviewed the recent findings concerning the use of natural products to cure or prevent the infection of COVID-19. Different extracts of herbal products and purified molecules have the ability to directly inhibit the replication or entry of the virus by exerting anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects. Some products may block the receptor required by the virus to infect human cells while other natural products inhibit the proteins essential for the lifecycle of the virus.

Although the particular cure for COVID-19 is not developed yet, scientists and researchers are working on products that boost the immune system and improve disease management. Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAMs) are quite popular and many people in this COVID-19 situation, seek CAMs as an effective component in disease management. CAMs principally help us fight against the diseases by boosting our immune systems and making us prone to diseases. This COVID-19 disease is not the first severe respiratory disease spread by the coronavirus type. It is purported that the coronavirus can be significantly downed by urgent consumption of vitamin C in high amounts, and for treating people who get infected with COVID-19, higher doses of vitamin D3 may be useful. It seems essential to activate the antioxidant capacity of the body to its maximum and boost natural immunity to reduce the symptoms of any virus attack. Vitamin C can be taken simultaneously with potential medicines to treat the disease in acute conditions. The oral intake of vitamin C will be effective for most people. In serious cases, vitamin C in the intravenous infusion is recommended. In addition, it is purported that the overactivity of immune cells out-turns in lung injury along with COVID-19 pneumonia. Some studies also recommend that intravenous injection of vitamin C in high-dose might be a safe and useful option for treating COVID-19 in its initial stages.