The unique daily routine that has prevented an Australian professor from contracting Covid-19…or colds and flu for three years
Professor Don Campbell uses a heparin-based nasal spray he believes has protected him from catching the virus
A medical professor believes he managed to avoid catching Covid throughout the pandemic by using a simple nasal spray.
Professor Don Campbell, director of Victoria’s Northern Health Hospitals Without Walls program, has sprayed a solution of heparin into his nose every morning and night since May 2020.
Heparin is an anticoagulant used to prevent blood clots, strokes and heart attacks, but Professor Campbell said when it was used as a nasal spray, it was completely safe and was not able to be absorbed by the body as a blood thinner.
‘We weren’t looking for the solution to our covid epidemic from the nose, and yet those in healthcare know that it’s a nasal infection, it infects your nose first,’ the professor told 3AW.
Professor Don Campbell, (pictured) director of Northern Health’s Hospitals Without Walls program in Victoria, has had a heparin drug solution sprayed into his nose every morning and night since May 2020.
‘My simple thought was if there is a nose infection, why don’t we stop the nose infection.’
Heparin has already been found to block influenza in laboratory settings.
‘I just thought why don’t you spray heparin in there, it will bind to the (Covid) protein spike like mud with a blanket and stop it spreading,’ the professor added.
The hope is that heparin will mask the Covid protein spike, which is responsible for the infection, and stop it from spreading to humans.
With a heparin-based nasal spray not available for purchase, Professor Campbell developed his own solution.
If he goes to a crowded place like a sports match or a shopping center, he also brings a bottle of it.
Since incorporating the spray into her routine, she has been free of infections from Covid-19, the common cold, as well as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza.
Professor Campbell is now asking volunteers to take part in a study to test the effectiveness of heparin on covid infections (pictured woman wearing a mask in a Sydney shopping centre)
Professor Campbell and a team of researchers from The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, the University of Melbourne and Monash University are now asking volunteers to take part in a trial of the effectiveness of heparin in Covid infections.
‘Recent studies suggest that it binds to the COVID-19 virus and may reduce the ability of the virus to enter cells,’ explains the study.
‘We believe heparin may be able to treat people with early COVID-19 infection and prevent transmission to their close family contacts, helping to reduce the spread of the virus.’
The study required one Covid-positive person in a household, as well as one household member who is not infected.
For the study, a total of 400 households are required.
Participants will be given a nasal spray, either heparin or a saline-based solution that acts as a placebo.
Then they will use the spray three times a day for ten days.
The hard part for researchers is now finding participants, as many don’t bother to test themselves for the virus now.
Those who have the virus must notify researchers within 72 hours of a positive test.
Share or comment on this article:
Read Full News Here