Could Vitamin D and Humidifiers Be Keys To ‘Preventing’ COVID?
We are what roughly 8 or 9 months into a COVID world? Scientists know more now than they did in March and April, and that has led to a possible vaccine from Pfizer. But what else can you do outside of the steps of wearing a mask, being physically distant, and not traveling outside your 'pod'? It appears there are some in the science community that thinks taking Vitamin D, what we get from the sun, and adding humidifiers to areas of our homes might help some folks out this winter when we are all trapped indoors more due to the winter weather.
On the advice from my wife, happy wife happy life, I started taking some vitamin D supplements namely as it makes her happy, but she also mentioned that it won't hurt to take and it could be beneficial in helping to prevent COVID-19. So where did she get this tip? Online of course. Hackensack Meridian Health posted about it on their website, you can read the whole article here, but here are some highlights that have some people heading to the supplement store to augment their diets with some Vitamin D.
"Several studies have shown that COVID-19 patients who are deficient in vitamin D are more likely to experience serious illness, severe complications and increased risk of death. And one study showed that when hospitalized COVID-19 patients took oral vitamin D supplements as part of their treatment, they were significantly less likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit than COVID-19 patients who didn’t receive vitamin D supplements." - Hackensack Meridian Health
And then there is this nugget. "Vitamin D helps the immune system function smoothly, so having sufficient levels in your body may help you fight COVID-19 if you get sick." That is also from the same article on the website for Hackensack Meridian Health.
So what about the humidifiers? Wired online said it best when it wrote this about why a humidifier might be something to think about this winter. "HVAC systems suck in outside air and then heat it up, which zaps even more moisture out of it. These changes not only make it easier for respiratory viruses to hop from host to host, but dry air cripples the first few lines of defense your body has for preventing such viruses from establishing an infection. All of this could be a recipe for the coronavirus to wreak even more havoc in the coming months."
So what does that mean? It means that when we are breathing in dry air, Condair Group sites below 40% relative humidity here, it can dry out the first two defenses we have against airborne diseases. Our nose and throat. So when we don't have mucus to trap those particles in our nose and throat it means more is getting into our lungs when we breathe in. And we know COVID-19 is an aerosol which scientists think enters our nose or throat and then infects us.
Maybe humidifiers and Vitamin D aren't a bad idea even if they don't stop COVID, it sounds like they are items we need anyway in a cold, dry, winter climate like Minnesota has to keep us healthy COVID or no COVID.
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