There’s a really fascinating new shift in the paradigm of the way Covid-19 is being viewed and some factors that may hold real potential in the fight against the virus.

How the Virus is said to affect our body?

The major two ways the Covid-19 virus is said to affect our body is by causing Adult respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia, creating a deficiency of oxygen which under a certain level can cause tissues to die and secondly by a phenomenon called ‘Cytokine storm’, which may occur in the 2^nd week of the illness, that raises various inflammatory factors and enzymes to extremely high levels which the immune system of the body may not be able to cope with leading to Inflammatory death in person’s at risk ie who already have inflammatory processes in the body eg Diabetes, Pre-diabetes, Hypertension, cardiac disease, cancer and any other significant illness including stress which is also pro-inflammatory!

How Covid-19 may not be a typical Respiratory distress disease?

The new paradigm that is emerging is that Covid-19 is not a typical respiratory disease and causes atypical pneumonia which resembles High altitude oedema of the lungs- like low blood oxygen saturation that occurs at high altitudes say on top of Mt Everest at 25000 to 28000 feet.

People that have contracted the virus seem to have very low blood saturation yet do not appear distressed, and not so unwell.

This is usually seen in a condition called Methemoglobinaemia where the people have abnormal hemoglobin that does not carry oxygen. There is now a theory that like methemoglobinaemia the coronavirus attacks part of the haemoglobin, pulling the iron off so it can’t carry oxygen any longer leading to lowered oxygenation and its consequences upon health.

Why Hydroxychloroquine and Methylene blue shows promise for treating COVID-19?

Why one of the world’s oldest pharmaceutical, Methylene blue may be a game changer for COVID-19? 

 Sure enough, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have been derived from methylene blue. Methylene blue came out in the late 1800s and it was one of the first, if not the first, commercially-prepared drug.

Methylene blue displaces the methemoglobin and restores normal oxygenation. It has many amazing properties, an anti-bacterial, a super strong anti-oxidant and makes the body alkaline.

In 1933 it was also discovered that methylene blue had virucidal properties against herpes virus. It apparently delivers a single oxygen, like a free radical to the virus that destroys it or inactivates it. At the same time, it seems to be an antioxidant to our cells. At the mitochondrial level, it’s also a pro-oxidant selectively to the viruses.

Methylene blue, in addition, was studied in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the COVID-19 producing virus, and found when given along with exposure to certain wavelengths of light, called photo-biomodulation could be a red light therapy device, could be sunlight,  which seem to activate the methylene blue and caused the virus to die. Then it was used against malaria. As people in the 1940s started complaining that although reversible, it made their urine and the whites of their eyes blue. Some also complained of nausea and burning urination.

So Methylene blue fell away and hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine started to be utilised which work in a similar fashion.

Both with methylene blue and hydroxychloroquine, there’s an amount of oxidation that does the job, and then the body takes care of the rest.

If methylene blue is oxidant and it’s killing things, it’s also got its own mechanism to mop them up with antioxidants.

 Keep in mind that although it a pretty safe product, it may cause nausea and is contraindicated in people with G6PD deficiency, renal deficiency and people on certain anti-depressants like the MAO inhibitors, SSRi group of drugs and needs to be derived from a pure uncontaminated source.

How Zinc and Vitamin C works in COVID-19 treatment?

There’s been some literature and there are some ongoing clinical trials using zinc with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.

Numerous studies show zinc itself is virucidal , whether it be the common cold or influenza. If you give enough of the right zinc at the right time, it seems to be helpful. What hydroxychloroquine does is fascinating in that it moves zinc into the cell to battle the virus. 

If the methylene blue does not work for methemoglobinemia, the next recommended thing is vitamin C,

Vitamin C is really interesting that although it is an antioxidant, some studies in test tubes done show at higher doses vitamin C has pro-oxidant activity which leads to it killing pathogens!

Vitamin C is now being successfully utilised in hospitals and Medical facilities in dealing with Covid-19.

Hopefully the researchers will be taking this forward swiftly as it may be a game changer in saving lives and suffering from this contagion!

IMPORTANT WARNING AND DISCLAIMER:

Please be clear this is entirely the realm of speculation (based on emerging, early research) and self-experimentation. This is mainly a call for more research to be done to see if this really works. This is NOT any claim of medical advice, and certainly NOT any claim that these strategies can treat, prevent or cure ANY illness and the goal is to advance the state of research, with the hope this may be a genuine breakthrough. Any action you do or do not take based on this information is done at your own risk. You should always consult with your doctor before performing any form of self-experimentation.

Studies and Resources:

• COVID-19: Attacks the 1-Beta Chain of Hemoglobin and Captures the Porphyrin to Inhibit Human Heme Metabolism
• Methylene blue photoinactivation abolishes West Nile virus infectivity in vivo
• Inhibiting the NLRP3 Inflammasome With Methylene Blue as Treatment Adjunct in Myelodysplasia 
• Methylene blue photochemical treatment as a reliable SARS-CoV-2 plasma virus inactivation method for blood safety and convalescent plasma therapy for the COVID-19 outbreak

Be Well

Dr Simi

Dr Simi Khanna: drsimikhanna@gmail.com