Might be very good to take a pass on this over the counter med! Seriously. Read the piece linked below. These researchers are stating this is "pro viral" and "could be detrimental"Wouldn't it be something if a common over the counter med was increasing the severity of this virus?! Looks to be entirely and frighteningly possible. We should also keep in mind that the use of respirators may have been a factor in increased fatalities in Covid-19 patients : Why Some Doctors Are Now Moving Away From Ventilator Treatments for Coronavirus Patients? Answer: Because it’s deadly.
If the ventilators are causing high death rates isn't it really death by medical intervention rather then by the virus?
An ingredient widely found in cough mixtures appears to boost the virus behind Covid-19 and could make the symptoms more severe, a group of leading scientists have warned.A major global study into the potential of existing drugs to treat the virus has found that some medicines that target coughing, a key symptom of the disease, could make it worse.The researchers stopped short of formally recommending that people don’t use cough medicines containing the ingredient - known as dextromethorphan - because more work is needed to be certain.But they say they feel it is their duty to alert the world of the possibility and say they would personally steer clear of the substance until more information can be found out.
Concerning findings
They point out that research, published in Nature, was carried out on African green monkey cells in the lab rather than living humans, but say the monkeys bear remarkable genetic similarities to people and insist their findings are highly concerning.“We’ve identified an over the counter medication that appears to be pro-viral - actively promoting infection - that people I think need to be aware of,” said Professor Nevin Krogan, of the University of California at San Francisco.“If I had Covid-19 I would think twice about using cough syrups,” added Prof Krogan, who is leading the global research project including more than 100 scientists from 22 labs around the world. These include the Cambridge campus of Europe’s leading life sciences laboratory, the European Bioinformatics Insititute.
Need to be careful but have to speak up
Professor Brian Shoichet, also of UC San Francisco, said the researchers were mindful of creating concerns that may yet prove to be unfounded but still felt they had to speak up."We should be careful. These are in vitro (laboratory) results - they haven't been shown clinically. We're not necessarily recommending that everyone stop taking dextromethorphan.”
“But because it's a pro-viral effect it would be wrong not to highlight it because it could be detrimental. More work needs to be done but it’s something to look out for.... A lot of caution is warranted but with a pro-viral effect you do want to be careful," he said.