Posted on 02/10/2022 11:47:07 AM PST by Red Badger
Promising news for people with long COVID may have arrived in a new case report, as two people report that their symptoms were almost completely relieved by taking common over-the-counter antihistamines. Authors of the new paper express that while the evidence thus far is anecdotal and based on a very small sample size, it’s a worthy avenue of investigation considering that – for most people – antihistamines are safe to take on a daily basis.
“Patients tell us they wish more than anything that they could work and do the most basic activities they used to before they got sick with long COVID,” said corresponding author and University of California, Irvine associate professor of nursing, Melissa Pinto, in a statement. “They are desperately searching for something to help them get back on their feet.”
That search led Pinto and colleagues to the cases of two women, details of which they describe in a paper published in The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. Both women were otherwise healthy and ended up taking the antihistamine diphenhydramine, sometimes branded as Benadryl or Nytol, as something of a happy accident.
In the first case, the woman had triggered an existing lactose intolerance by eating cheese so took the antihistamine to manage the subsequent symptoms. The second had run out of her usual allergy medication so switched.
In both instances, the women found daily doses of the antihistamine led to significantly improved quality of life. Their cognition, exercise tolerance, and pain severity – all of which had worsened after SARS-CoV-2 infection – were improved and rashes and lesions associated with long COVID (which has around 203 possible symptoms) went away.
Each woman reports they’ve regained 90 and 95 percent of their pre-illness function under the diphenhydramine antihistamine regime. Their promising outcome potentially demonstrates that this readily available medication could have a big impact on those who feel they have lost much of their quality of life to long COVID.
“Currently, there is no cure for [long COVID], only symptom management,” said Pinto. “A number of options are being tried, with antihistamines being one of them.”
While the women represent a small sample size, with similar characteristics including age, sex, and ethnicity, Pinto maintains that the promise of an afforable medication easing long COVID symptoms is worth further investigation.
“The possibility that an easy-to-access, over-the-counter medication could ease some of the [long COVID] symptoms should offer hope to the estimated 54 million people worldwide who have been in distress for months or even years,” she continued. "The next steps for this research into antihistamine treatment are to conduct broad-based trials in order to evaluate efficacy and to develop dosage schedules for clinical practice guidelines.”
I’m sure the media will be along shortly to condemn this drug as a dangerous horse decongestant.
There is a study that shows a combination of diphenhydramine and lactoferrin, a milk protein that is sold as a supplement are more than 90% effective in treating covid.
CC
Orange juice and tomato juice are much better balanced for electrolytes, which I what drink.
She is a diet controlled diabetic that does not tolerate artificial sweeteners - that makes it a little problematical.
I thought Zyrtec might b/c I saw drowsiness listed among its “side effects”. I regularly use melatonin & CBD, and occasionally theanine, but I haven’t tried l-arginine. I use an extremely small amount of melatonin sublingually, and while it does get me to sleep it also promotes exhausting dreams. I’m trying various things/combinations (including exercise) to enable me to sleep soundly, with minimal waking up and without long, tiring dreams. Aka the holy grail LOL.
Of course not! Not Big Pharma.
I max out with 10 mg melatonin. That it is a potent antioxidant is a welcome side effect.
L-arginine is not ordinarily considered a substance that has much to do with somnolence. But I and others, initially taking it for something else have noted the effect.
You mean when they published this study?
About anticholinergics like diphenhydramine and increased risk of dementia?
“Conclusions and Relevance Higher cumulative anticholinergic use is associated with an increased risk for dementia. Efforts to increase awareness among health care professionals and older adults about this potential medication-related risk are important to minimize anticholinergic use over time.”
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2091745
That is with long term use
Do you have a preferred brand of CBD? I’ve tried several brands and types (edibles, tinctures) and thus far there are none I’ve been especially pleased with.
If you drink more water than normal, I think you need to consume more potassium than normal. Oranges, bananas, and most fruits, potatoes, potato chips are high in potassium.
Fer sure!.....................
Yeah, but it one study it was estimated that only a few months of daily use was enough. This was several years ago I read the study; don’t have the link.
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