Does ultraviolet in sunlight limit the flu season

Accuweather ^ | March 24, 2020 | John Roach

[chiller]

Great news. Recent tests confirming UV sunlight kills the virus in 2-4 minutes were conducted in labs.

...which means UV light can be used anywhere...homes, offices, summer or winter... to kill the virus.

Watch this story develop.

[Basket_of_Deplorables]

That, plus vitamin D from sunlight. Big immmune system booster. Our grandparents were right: Fresh air, sunshine, outdoor exercise all good for you. And new studies show the virus spreads indoors, among family members and close associates.

Shelter-in-place is the wrong thing to do. Duh.

[LeonardFMason]

UV kills lot’s of pathogens.

It is used to disinfect operating rooms.

UV lighting should start being incorporated in most offices starting with bathroom areas.

[freefdny]

“Operation Annihilate”. I had to look it up. Great reference.

[Daniel Ramsey]

Find a beach near a place where thete is a hole in the ozone layer...

I did back in 2015 just south of Adelaide South Australia.
Never in my life did I get a sunburn so quick.

But I might dust off a couple of tanning lamps just to use for a possible virus killing tool at home.

[McGavin999]

If you are Irish, go get sun for 10 minutes and then go to the pub. *grin*

[Mastador1]

So the choice is die from Covid or die from skin cancer? : )

Way back during the 1918 pandemic it was said that fresh air and sunshine were the best treatment. Of course they meant in moderation not frying the skin off with hours of unprotected exposure. I had friends in the sixties who basted themselves with Baby Oil for that golden brown crispy turkey look, in later years I often wondered if they set themselves up for skin cancer.

[relictele]

Don’t use the full spectrum of light tho. :)

[Ragnar54]

There is an article on NIH by a Canadian physician (Dr. Gerry Schwalfenberg) who works in nursing homes. He has developed a protocol for reducing flu like illness among his patients. This should be tried against the corona virus in US hospitals:

"A colleague of mine and I have introduced vitamin D at doses that have achieved greater than 100 nmol/L in most of our patients for the past number of years, and we now see very few patients in our clinics with the flu or influenzalike illness. In those patients who do have influenza, we have treated them with the vitamin D hammer, as coined by my colleague. This is a 1-time 50 000 IU dose of vitamin D3 or 10 000 IU 3 times daily for 2 to 3 days. The results are dramatic, with complete resolution of symptoms in 48 to 72 hours. One-time doses of vitamin D at this level have been used safely and have never been shown to be toxic. We urgently need a study of this intervention. The cost of vitamin D is about a penny for 1000 IU, so this treatment costs less than a dollar."

Vitamin D for influenza

There is a presentation by Dr. Robert P Heaney on the healthful effects of adequate vitamin D levels:

Vitamin D Sunshine Optimal Health: Putting it all Together

[McGavin999]

I’ve always wondered how much those tanning lotions had to do with what happened to your skin. Growing up in Arizona I spent summers in one of 3 stages. 1. Burn. 2. Blister. 3. Peel. Never put anything on it except vinegar after the burn.

[Black Agnes]

Yes. Vitamin D hammer. We have tried this. It works. If you take D3 supplements longer than the 3 or 4 days for this protocol, ask your MD about taking K2 supplements. Your body needs both to properly handle bone/calcium metabolism.

[Amendment10]

Probably a better question is, does UV-triggered production of vitamin D3 in skin boost the immune system? I say yes.

Insights welcome.

[minnesota_bound]

The temp here in the San Fernando valley these next several days will be in the 90’s.
98 on Friday so I am going to be tanned and healthy : )

[Ragnar54]

I haven’t had the opportunity to test the “ Vitamin D hammer” yet. I increased my intake of Vitamin D to 7,000 IU/day a few years ago, and have not had any cold or flu symptoms since. I have been taking about 500 mcg of K2 daily for about a year in hopes of reducing my coronary calcium. The only MD I asked about K2 was my wife, and her reaction was “there is a risk of blood clots” (not true).

[Mr. Jeeves]

Because there is no sun in Singapore.

Lots of thunderstorms. It's been cloudy about 80% of the time, when I've been there.

[Vermont Lt]

Sounds dreary. No wonder the Brits liked it.