Updates on COVID-19 Nasal Sprays, Best For College Students? 

Nasal sprays are liquid medicines, mostly antihistamine that are delivered to the body by spraying into your nose. They are mostly used for nasal congestion and allergic rhinitis.

Recent studies show that people are starting to use corticosteroid sprays to relieve the symptoms of COVID-19. Available via over the counter, these medications are really not that expensive. Although studies are based mostly on observations, clinical trials are being performed to be able to determine whether nasal sprays are effective and safe in preventing COVID-19.

COVID-19 Nasal Sprays

Interestingly, COVID-19 sprays, as a potential vaccine, are under work at Stanford Medicine. If successful, this revolutionary medicine may develop a drug that can immunize a person against COVID-19, mainly through a single sniff.

COVID-19 frequently enters the body through the nose, thus specialists in the Stanford Medicine area trying to stop the coronavirus disease from its point of entry – the nose.

At present, vaccinations are introduced in the body through an intramuscular shot to the arm. Vaccinations efforts around the globe showed significant response in diminishing the symptoms that come with the disease.

However, despite the positive response vaccines are getting nowadays, researchers and scientists are still looking into more effective ways in preventing and hopefully putting an end to the disease. Today, they are trying to develop a vaccine centered on administering protection on the site of the infection, with the scientific guess that it may produce a more robust response against the virus.

The Minds Behind This Innovative New Vaccine

Tarik Massoud MD PhD and Ramasamy Paulmurugan PhD, both professors in radiology are leading this innovative new medicine. Both experts are not trained immunologists and were never part of the creation of COVID-19 immunization. In fact, back in 2020, during the height of the pandemic and lockdowns, they were focused on pursuing a treatment for glioblastoma, a certain type of brain tumor through their gold nanoparticle research.

As they develop this treatment, the thought of swapping their study into something more timely – creating a vaccine for COVID-19. Several months later, the duo have managed to demonstrate this feasibility with mice, through a nasal spray vaccination for COVID-19, relying mainly on gold nanoparticles and DNA.

How Does It Work?

According to the study, using nasal steroids before and after acquiring the COVID-19 infection may disrupt the virus’s ability to enter and breach the nasal passages, one of the most common parts of the body where the virus enters. This is not just coincidence. The human nose features a large concentration of ACE1, a type of protein found in human cells that serves as a dock for the virus. These proteins promote the replication and infection of the virus inside the body.

The nasal spray aims to decrease ACE2 protein inside the nasal passages to be able to prevent the possibility of increased infection and replication of the coronavirus in the nose area. The fewer protein cells to accommodate the virus, the less likely severe COVID-19 will be, an assumption researches are trying to prove.

Laboratory results focused in this approach shows that nasal sprays against COVID-19 outcomes are quite promising. Random clinical trials show that the approach is quite game-changing and may be a safe and effective remedy for widespread use. Although it is not a definitive solution to put an end to the virus, the results are very promising that it can be a potentially significant aid to decrease the effects of the virus to the human body.

Researchers and scientists are doing their best to dig deeper into understanding the different forms of ACE2 found inside the body and how to engineer steroids and vaccines that can help better target the virus, if not completely fight it off. However, as this development is carefully tested in laboratories, they are also looking into retaining the positive effects of steroids against the virus, without compromising the body’s natural immune system.

Yet, despite these developments, the National Institutes of Health expresses that there is still insufficient data when it comes to the positive effects of inhaled corticosteroids against the COVID-19 virus. At present, the only tested and recommended oral pill and solution for use against COVID-19 is dexamethasone. This steroid is currently being used for hospitalized patients suffering from the virus.