What is the current consensus on supplements to take or skip? I thought zinc lozenges and high dose Vitamin C were clear winners, but I am now finding conflicting information on how Vitamin C may impact interferon.
There’s also the HCQ issue, where it’s been so politicized that it’s rather difficult to determine efficacy as an early intervention.
Edit: The internet exists, I have no plans to defect in the Prisoner’s Dilemma and go shopping in person.
Asking for myself, because, well, y’know. Getting tested tomorrow, and regarding that—come on San Francisco, it’s nearly September, DO BETTER. Please DM if you know of a way to get tested with a <24 hour turnaround time.
I don’t know how it specifically interacts with COVID-19, but most modern people are vitamin D deficient, it’s easy to supplement, and higher vitamin D levels than without supplementation seem to be correlated with better immune system function.
Not medical advice but my personal view
The Oura trials suggest that it can often detect illness 3 days before showing clinical symptoms. I personally would take an unexplained fall in HRV/high bodytemperature/higher resting HR as a sign to take more measures.
When it comes to zinc lozenges for the flu you need to take them very early to be effective. If you wait for a test result you are likely past the point where the zinc lozenges do much.
Having half of a day before you are even officially tested a zinc lozenge in your mouth isn’t fun but it might be what’s required to see the protective effects.
Neti pots provide an additional treatment that I would use because of the literature of how it helps with influenza. Of course you need to take care to properly clean a neti pot, use sterile water and the right salt content.
Drinking a lot of water (maybe ~4 liter), eating lightly and sheduling a lot of sleep seem also decent.
Disclaimer : I have not researched any guidance for self care, just sharing one reasonning here.
I have no knowledge about this whatsoever, but from a population standpoint I’d be surprised if there was anything that you could buy that will probably help you while not posing comparatively more risks to others by the simple act of going shopping while positive (thus spreading).
What I mean is that I think everyone in the area is better of if they isolate as soon as they know they’re positive instead of first going shopping for something that might help.
Of course your question still holds if you’re wondering this before being tested positive, which you are doing now.
Again : not qualified, but I’d say that rest and proper sleeping positions are probably good whereas taking moderate to large doses of whatever supplements (zinc, vitamin C etc) could definitely have slighty worse effects.
My reasonning is that for supplements : the expected positive gain is small otherwise it would already be known. The possible negative impact of supplements is also unknown, but I think that most won’t take the same supplements that you do so it could have worsenning effects without being known and documented.
I wrote this because the thought seemed worth sharing and I’d appreciate feedbacks and correction on this, but I sincerely hope it won’t be read as intended to stress you out or something, as you might be in a bit of a stressful situation.
From bipedal to (probably) bipedal : wish you good luck.
Given how long it took for the expected gain of wearing mask to be known it seems very optimistic.
Good point. It was indeed not clear but I meant “known” not as in “by everyone” but rather more by its occurence in my readings, which are more technical and rigorous than mainstream media. (I am in the medical field)
Traditionally, the medical field doesn’t put much energy into studying what self care is effective. It’s rather a field that does it best to outlaw self care.
When it comes to medical treatment for COVID-19, it’s treatment that’s effective for people who are diagnosed with COVID-19.
To be diagnosed with COVID-19 you usually need to have symptoms and then wait one or two days for your test. That time allows the virus to replicate a lot and as a result treatments that might be useful to be taken a day before overt symptoms when HRV falls for an otherwise unexplained reason or at symptoms onset might not be useful in the clinical setting for diagnosed COVID-19 patients.
From what we know about Zinc lozenges and the flu, they have to be taken at symptoms onset to be effective, so the assumption that the same is true for COVID-19 is not farfetched.
I purchased zinc lozenges, high dose Vitamin C, and HCQ many months ago. I am trying to decide for action now, or as a pre-commit for later, on what is most appropriate to take.
Disclaimer : I have not read studies on zinc and covid, and barely some with zinc and flu. My answer assumes that the consensus is that zinc shortens and reduces the severity of the common cold. Also that zinc and covid-19 are not studied
I think “outlaw” is an exagerration, I would rather say “cautions against”.
Indeed it is not farfetched to imagine that zinc could have something to do with the immune reaction to viruses. But it is definitely not enough for me to take some.
First random example. Imagine taking zinc increases your immunity to the virus, great. Or is it? I have no idea, because that could also imply that it increases the immune reaction against the virus, causing more damage to the body than the virus itself. That would not occur in common cold studies but would for COVID-19.
Other example : if having zinc at the right place and at the right moment would be a total winner virus-wise, that doesn’t mean that maybe taking zinc supplements too early or late might downregulate some zinc pathways, hindering your immune response. I don’t know them but I guess there is at least one feedback loop in the zinc absorption cycle and disturbing it could lessen the immunity somehow.
My point is : we don’t know. There seems to be evidence that zinc could have something to do with viral response, but that doesn’t mean it helps it. Or if it does for the common cold : that doesn’t mean that it works in the same way for a virus that is not even related and doesn’t kill the same way.
In my opinion, this is why the medical field urges caution towards self care.
(And the fact that if you say zinc could help again covid you know you will have 500 people taking 3 times the lethal dose out of sheer darwinism, so you wait for proper studies.)
For shopping, the internet exists!
That’s right, my reasonning was flawed. Thank you!