Ahead by a Nose
(Diagrams of human nose from Wikimedia Commons)
Today I’d like to show you someone else’s information. First I should tell you why.
People coming down with COVID now tend to get more sick than they have for the past year or more. Nobody in authority seems willing to acknowledge that, let alone investigate why.
Best guess? A tangled combination.
Many people haven’t gotten a booster vaccination for a long time. In the UK, most people are forbidden access to it.
The virus is evolving so fast that even the latest booster isn’t a good match.
Evolution has also chopped any immunity from infection, so reinfection can happen very quickly. Had it recently? Two weeks later, you can get it again. It has become more easily transmitted, too, which makes it easier to get exposed.
The virus leaves significant damage in its wake, even from asymptomatic infections. Damage is especially notable in the endothelium, cardiovascular system, brain, and immune system. (CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells really take it on the chin.) People who have had COVID are not only more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2, they are also less able to fight off everything else, so many types of diseases are rapidly becoming more prevalent.
The flavors of the virus that are becoming more prevalent pack a bigger punch, even for people who never caught it before and therefore don’t have a pre-softened immune system.
There’s more, but you get the idea. Authorities should be shouting from the rooftops, telling people it’s becoming more important to avoid catching this virus. They aren’t, so I’m telling you… and I want to make sure you know there’s one more bit you can do that you probably aren’t hearing much about.
Main Layers of Defense
By now, all of us who have our eyes wide open to reality know the basics about how to avoid infection with airborne disease.
Avoid crowds.
Get vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 and keep boosters up to date if possible.
Maximize fresh air. Meet outdoors with social distancing, or when we must meet indoors, ventilate the heck out of the space.
Filter the air, especially if it is not possible to ventilate well enough to probably sweep out airborne particles before they reach another person (or before another person enters the room vacated by someone who is infected).
Wear a high quality face mask (respirator) well fitted to the face (especially around the bridge of the nose) to go into shops or other indoor public spaces, have an indoor meeting, or even walk outdoors in a potentially crowded area. (When a salesperson came by, we ran HEPA filters, and she and I wore FFP3 face masks. When I must walk through town on a crowded day, I put on my FFP3 when I leave the car and don’t take it off until I return to the car.)
We’re all waiting for a sterilizing vaccine that prevents infection instead of only reducing the severity of the initial acute phase and slightly reducing the chance of Long COVID.
But in the meantime, we have to get by mostly with the protections I listed, unless we’re complete hermits who never interact with anyone else in 3D life.
Add One More Layer of Defense
However, we can add one more item to our list of protective measures. Late last year I searched for studies indicating whether any of the nasal sprays being touted as anti-SARS had any evidence of effectiveness. They generally didn’t. The only one that had some evidence from studies that looked believable was Enovid. It’s terribly expensive, about £40 per bottle imported from Israel. I got a bottle for my wife, another for my mother and one for myself.
As time passed, more studies were done. There are more options now. Some are much more affordable (not to mention less stingy to apply). Don’t ask me for the list. Take a look at the information Jessica Wildfire and Nate Bear compiled.
https://www.okdoomer.io/nose-sprays-offer-a-last-line-of-defense/
Nasal sprays aren’t good enough to substitute for the rest of our protections. They are an additional layer in our shields. Remember, viral load (the amount of virus that gets into you) correlates strongly with how sick you are likely to get. If you can keep it down to just a few particles, your immune system may be able to finish the job instead of having the virus get past it.
If a little bit of virus gets past your mask but you used one of these nose sprays before and after the exposure event, the nose spray may be enough to keep you safe. The other defenses generally protect everyone. Nasal sprays are for protecting yourself. Of course, if you don’t get infected, you won’t spread virus to anyone else.
As a bonus, these sprays generally work against many other airborne pathogens too, not only against SARS viruses.
My wife and I tend to use such sprays before putting on FFP3 masks to go into heavier potential exposure such as a crowded shop. We use them before such events as outdoor distanced walks with friends, in case a breeze happens to blow in the wrong direction. They are an extra shield, not our only shield. We have a couple of different kinds so we can use one kind beforehand and another kind after.
The northern hemisphere is going from autumn into winter and going into the holiday season when many people want to gather indoors in groups. You might still be able to stay ahead of the virus—ahead by a nose, thanks to Wildfire and Bear’s work.
Scarier and scarier.