A new type of drug-free nasal spray could be a great defense against Covid-19, the common cold, and other viruses and bacterial illnesses. The spray was designed by researchers at Harvard Medical School and Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The goal of the spray was to find a way to block respiratory infections from taking hold. Now, based on data shared in a preclinical study, the spray might just work.
According to the study, the spray was almost 100 percent effective at stopping bacteria and viruses from causing infection in mice that were treated with it. In fact, the study’s results show that the spray was even able to block doses up to 25 times greater than the lethal dosage. The tested virus included a dangerous flu virus, which should have killed the mice it was administered to. However, those who had been treated with the spray stayed healthy.
The most interesting thing about this drug-free nasal spray is that it also appears to work against the COVID-19 virus, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), adenovirus, and even the bacteria that cause pneumonia. The researchers have yet to test it against rhinovirus, which is responsible for causing the common cold, but they posit that it will prove effective against that as well.
Now, you might be asking yourself, how exactly does a nasal spray that doesn’t have any drugs block dangerous viruses like this? Well, it all comes down to how it coats the inside of the nose. See, when someone sick sneezes or coughs, they release tiny germ-filled droplets that are easily breathed in through the nose. When that happens, the germ-filled droplets are then absorbed by our bodies, thus spreading the infectious virus and bacteria.
However, this drug-free nasal spray completely coats the inside of the nose, allowing the pathogens and droplets to be captured in a strong gel-like material that prevents them from getting into your body. There are other sprays out there, but they aren’t nearly as effective at blocking bacteria and viruses as this new spray, which the researchers called PCANS (pathogen capture and neutralizing spray).
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen researchers turning to nasal sprays as a way to treat different problems, either. Some have been working on a nasal spray that may cure depression, and we’ve even seen nasal sprays designed to stop COVID-19 in the past. However, none of these seem as promising as PCANS, which has the potential to completely nullify the common cold, the flu, and several other annoying and dangerous respiratory viruses. All we have to do now is wait for clinical trials to prove just how effective it will be in humans.
