What can be done against Covid-19 ?

New treatments are being introduced but will probably be reserved for serious cases requiring an hospital admission. Meanwhile and until better solutions emerge several measures have been proposed and proven useful  to reinforce patient immunity. The most important advice, and not controversial, is  vitamin D supplementation. Vitamin D deficiency (70 percent of Europe's population has subnormal blood levels) has been associated with a higher Covid-19 morbidity (more serious symptoms) and mortality. High blood levels also seem associated with a slightly lower incidence of positive nasal PCR  tests detecting viral material. Therefore  vitamin D may even decrease the risk of contamination. Below  is a summary of  what can be proposed today in Belgium :  - Vitamin D : for instance  D-cure, one box of  12 ampules, 25.000 units each, one ampule to drink once a week or every two weeks. Or  3.000 units daily, the recommended dosage for elderly people, all year round.  The safety margin is excellent  : no toxicity has been reported under 10.000 u/day. - Selenium : for instance Supra Selenium DeBa Pharma, 200  mcg  (100 tablets) - Green tea (which also exists as concentrated extracts, for instance Mannavital green tea platinum). -  Probiotics to optimize the gut flora : for instance  Probactiol duo (box of 30), 2 a day. - Zinc : for instance  Influ-Zinc, lozenges,  2-3 a day for a week, no more (excess zinc disturbs copper metabolism). Zinc is a non-specific  immunity booster. It also specifically inhibits rhinoviruses, responsible for many common colds, lowers and shortens cold symptoms provided the treatment is started as soon as they appear. - Vitamin C  : for instance  C-Will (500 mg) - Quercetin (increases the anti-viral action of vitamin C) : for instance  DeBa  Quercétine-forte 400 mg. All  that  is mentioned above is  available over the counter in neighbourhood or online pharmacies (such as New Pharma or others). A useful preparation, to strengthen immunity,  associates vitamins C and  D, selenium, zinc, quercetin and a green tea extract :  Immudefense forte. - Influenza vaccine :  health workers  who received the vaccine last year benefit from a lower risk of contamination by covid-19 (a 39 percent reduction).  And the tetravalent  flu vaccine may offer  partial protection against covid-19 this year  as well. And if symptoms appear  ?  The most suggestive signs for Covid-19 are headache, fever, dry cough, loss of taste or smell, intense fatigue, aches and pains. This list is far from complete, the disease has multiple presentations. The main danger is the cytokine storm, after about a week of evolution.  It is an immune detrimental  overreaction attacking  mostly lungs, causing shortness of breath, respiratory distress, requiring oxygen, intensive care, sometimes intubation and machine ventilation.  When the situation is so serious, effective treatment  requires a hospital admission, which we would prefer to avoid. Is it possible to act earlier, to minimize  symptoms and obtain a milder evolution ?  It remains unclear.  Hydroxychloroquin (HCQ) and Ivermectin (used mostly in India)  have been  presented as  effective, but  many disappointing or disturbing observations have failed to confirm this contention, and these treatments are now abandoned. covid and aspirin A recent study shows that  low dose aspirin (80-100 mg a day) decreases the risk of hospital admission, intensive care, mechanical ventilation and death in Covid-19 patients. https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Fulltext/2021/04000/Aspirin_Use_Is_Associated_With_Decreased.2.aspx covid and colchicin A canadian team  reported (january 2021) a significant reduction of symptoms, need for artificial ventilation, and mortality with colchicin an old  and cheap medication,  with anti-inflammatory properties, used against gout and familial mediterranean fever. However  this approach has failed to convince and nobody seems to propose this treatment any longer. https://www.icm-mhi.org/fr/salle-presse/nouvelles/colchicine-reduit-risque-complications-liees-covid-19 covid and cannabis A team from Georgia  has studied cannabidiol (CBD).  Encouraging results suggest that  the medication, a legal by-product of  cannabis (without the euphorizing action) may be useful against the cytokine storm. CBD oil  - to be taken by mouth -  is available on the internet and in belgian pharmacies without prescription.  A more  recent study suggests that other substances from hemp could be useful early in the evolution, but no practical consequences or advice  has been drawn. https://jagwire.augusta.edu/cbd-helps-reduce-lung-damage-from-covid-by-increasing-levels-of-protective-peptide/