DIY anti-virus spray

[Munroast]

Can I ask why?

I understand this point if it was made 4 weeks ago, but we are no where near ICU capacity following the peak, and if anything now is the best time to get it, as all of the emergency measures are in place, and hospitals aren't that busy

Getting it when all the elective surgery is back on, and the ICUs are filled up to capacity with other cases is probably a worse time to get it.

At the moment they have nothing more than symptomatic treatment and the death rate of those admitted to hospital is just horrific about 1 in 3 die. I am hoping as time goes on they will not only improve the symptomatic treatment but also start to develop treatment for the disease itself. If the death rate is 1:3 for those admitted to hospital now, may be by the end of the year it could be down to 1:10. And of course - in the very very long term may be even a vaccine, but lets not hold our breath for that.

 

[mikeey84]

There are very few viral disease treatments that do anything but treat the symptoms.

Antiviral drugs are few and far between, and, compared with antibiotics, are limited in their effectiveness.

I doubt we will move beyond symptomatic treatment before a vaccine is developed

 

[Munroast]

There are very few viral disease treatments that do anything but treat the symptoms.

Antiviral drugs are few and far between, and, compared with antibiotics, are limited in their effectiveness.

I doubt we will move beyond symptomatic treatment before a vaccine is developed

It goes well beyond 'virus' though, one of the main causes of death is the cytokine storm that kicks off within our immune systems. Controlling this element of the disease will be a big game changer. But failing all that symptomatic treatment will improve, so i'm still going to go with later rather than sooner.

 

[mikeey84]

All true, but we've known about cytokine cascades/storms for quite a while now. The immune system is one of the most complex things man has ever researched, so tackling it when it goes haywire is no easy task.

Its 6 of one/half a dozen I think, as I doubt treatment will move much beyond keeping people alive whilst they heal themselves for the foreseeable.

Recent research showing how few people have had it in some countries (5% of the population) shows we have some distance to go in the journey