Can Vitamin C Prevent or Treat COVID-19?

The Corona Virus Pandemic Effect

With the Corona Virus pandemic AkA CoVid-19 hitting many countries, major economies and individuals of every class the effects are widely seen. The effects are so massive that no economic strata or ethnic race are spared. Recently the Prime Minister of the UK was also tested positive and he was not the only international parliamentarian to be affected. Besides the parliamentarians and nobles, the royals are also affected. The King’s monarchs of the UK, Spain, and Norway are to name a few. The international trade is halted, and all eyes and ears are on the disease to take a blow and ease out but so far it seems unlikely anytime soon. A lot of money and time is being spent by the researchers worldwide to fight this unknown predator. The United States launched the vaccine for this virus, but the results are still awaited. So, the main question everyone is asking is how to avoid catching the disease, and if one is tested positive what they should do. Regarding the latter question, the best strategy is to self-isolate and visit the hospital if there are symptoms like difficulty in breathing and high-grade fever since there is no cure available for now. Although many researchers are trying their best to find a solution the good news is yet to come but there are ways one can keep themselves away from this virus and researchers are also working on them. 

Vitamin C Infusions

One of the ways is to have full body checkup to see how well your body can cope up. Also, how well the body’s immune system is performing can be vital in fighting off coronavirus. Recently another therapy i.e. Vitamin therapy is a lot researched and talked about. Many researchers think it as a way to boost immunity hence help in fighting off the disease. One of the researchers, Zhi-Yong Peng, MD of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University has started the trial for vitamin C against the Corona. He registered a phase 2 clinical trial on ClinicalTrials.gov to test the efficacy of vitamin C infusions for the treatment. He suggested that the antioxidant property of Vitamin C prevents cytokine-induced damage to the respiratory system. These cytokines are the culprits that trigger inflammation in response to infections which eventually result in respiratory distress and eventually death ensues. According to the researcher, Vitamin C reduces this inflammatory response and eventually stopping the cascade of respiratory distress.

Still, the data and new researches are coming on every day to fight this disease. One of the researchers states that around 3 researches underway to combat corona with vitamin C therapy. One of the researchers is Dr. Richard Cheng who is also an editor for orthomolecular medicine news services. He states about a “shanghai plan” which was published on March 1. According to this report, which happens to be the first and only official guide for this vitamin therapy against corona, significant results are found with this therapy to curb this virus. He further states that there is a push from the govt to administer this therapy in masses. Furthermore, the idea is to use oral Vit c therapy as it is easily administered with similar effects. He further stated that the dose required to combat inflammation in 24 gm Vitamin C per day as one of the researches suggested. The experimental group participants in one of the researches received 24 gms of IV vitamin C/ day for a week which helped ease out the symptoms of respiratory distress in them.

In conclusion, Vitamin C therapy is still in research phases. It is hoped that the ongoing studies will conclude with positive results. As for now, the safe way is to consult your healthcare provider if you have any queries about Vit C. Also, an effective suggestion would be to take oral vitamin C if you have no related health conditions. Some of the side effects of vitamin C include stomach upset, headache nausea and vomiting. And if you find any of the symptoms like fiver, continuous coughing and shortness of breath then visit Accident and Emergency immediately.