Nasal spray can help against COVID

Before I tell you about a very interesting study involving an over-the-counter spray and how it might prevent you from getting COVID, I’d first like to chime on the anti-science sentiment around Washington, D.C.

I am a physician and a researcher. For about 30 years, I tested medications as part of my practice, including Azithromycin (a commonly used antibiotic), Lipitor for cholesterol, Fosamax for osteoporosis and a number of other medications. So I am a seasoned observer as to what is right and wrong with what’s going on now.

Let me ask you: Would you ever go to your representative in Congress or to your senator for health advice? What about going to a social influencer or celebrity? Of course not. You would go to your doctor or someone on your doctor’s team such as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant.

If you were unsure of their advice, you would go to another trained person to see what they thought. If you were interested in a more alternative approach, you might go to a provider with background in that specialty.

My point here is that there is a lot of noise happening in the system, too much fake stuff going on — like the idea that taking Tylenol in pregnancy causes autism. Why they are doing this is beyond me; I’m not an expert in tomfoolery.

My goal in this column is to keep giving you curated information based on what I think are the best practices. If you’re interested in science, read on. But if you’re not, then this is not the right reading for you.

So COVID is real. It will continue to kill, just like influenza. The best way to prevent it is by immunization. The new shots are better than the old ones because it’s a pesky virus. Like all immunizations for adults, you decide.

The issues with children are somewhat different, and I’ll discuss that in a future column. But now, on to this fascinating study about the nasal spray.

Here’s the short summary: An over-the-counter nasal spray just might reduce your risk of getting COVID by 60%. If that doesn’t get you to read on, I don’t know what does. Here are the details.

German researchers took 450 healthy adults and administered azelastine nasal spray, an antihistamine (brand name Astepro), to half of them. The dose was 0.1% and was given three times daily. The other half of the group got a spray placebo.

Twice a week, everyone was tested for COVID with a rapid antigen test, followed by a polymerase chain reaction test, the gold standard, for anyone initially testing positive. During this time, 6.67% of the placebo group got COVID, while only 2.2% of the azelastine group got it.

That’s roughly a two-thirds reduction in the azelastine group. Not only that, but the active treatment group had fewer symptoms. This is good news, folks.

What’s going on? The investigators think — and here’s the scientific stuff — “the spray inhibits the ACE2 receptors from attaching to the Sars-CoV-2 protease Mpro and modulates the alpha 1 receptor to suppress the ICAM-1 upregulatin.”

This, by the way, is above my pay scale of full understanding, but I just wanted to imbue you with the fact that there is science behind this, not bluster.

What’s more, this over-the-counter antihistamine spray has also shown some antiviral capacity against other cold viruses, including RSV and influenza A.

My spin: I have a few thoughts on this.

1. Get some of this nasal spray to have around the house. It must have the active ingredient azelastine in it, period. Do not get a substitute nasal spray; it won’t work.

2. If you come into contact with someone with COVID or influenza, start spraying right away. It might keep you from getting sick.

3. If you have COVID, you should start spraying. It could reduce your symptoms.

This study has to be repeated for confirmation of these results, which I am sure will happen. But in the meantime, this spray, with minimal side effects, seems to be an effective way to keep from getting COVID or other pesky viruses this winter. Wouldn’t that be a great holiday gift for all of us? Stay well.