A Proposal: A generic cure for colds? Or a dud?

 

How to classify this AlanR treatment for colds.  The main problem is that it is just a home treatment with no credentials. It works for me and my friends.  Thousands of people must have tried it. Over 6,000 Indonesians, about 1700+ people from each of the countries, Hong Kong, the USA, and Germany for example, almost 18,000 in total, have visited the site.  To date, nobody has commented, good or poor. What is needed is some official standing, a simple clinical trial to determine the efficacy.

What the treatment does is kill the virus in the early stages. It is an enhancement of the very ancient fever immune response using the three parameters heat, humidity and time. The unique part is to temporarily convert the nasal cavity and throat, from a place where the virus replicates, to a virus-killing zone.  The process takes about 1.5 - 2 hours. The equivalent that pharmaceutical companies are bringing to market is 3 targeted pills a day for 5 days.

What I am proposing is that a simple trial using my treatment could be a university medical student-level group project for a term paper.  It would need to have the blessing of a professor that is comfortable working outside the box and a student to champion the project. The primary thesis could be that most cold viruses have a sensitivity limit (mortality) in the range of 37.5 to 39 ⁰C and relative humidity of > 95% in vivo (references below). To my knowledge, this has never been done. There could also be a published paper by the prof and students. This project would be a hands-on medical research experience and a bonus to any student’s resume.

There is also a very low risk of applying the treatment if the rules are followed. There are no drugs, no injections, no pain, and no expensive equipment necessary. The required materials are nose clips or medical tape, hand sanitizer (for cleaning the oily nose surface), temperature measuring devices, and PPE supplies, except for the nose clips the above are readily available at most universities. Side effects: a clear nasal cavity, a quick recovery (depending on how much damage has been done by the virus).

 I have sent notes to WHO, NIH, CDC, Mayo Clinic, The UN, Canada Health, 5 Universities, the Health department of 5 provinces, and several clinical doctors. I have had 3 replies, 2 were for permissions to reference their papers.  So far, there have been no debunks that I know of, but the data from my website suggests many referrals.

It is time for me to move on to thoughts about skiing and leave COVID19 in the background. I live in a small valley beside a salmon stream. Eagles are patrolling the stream looking for salmon remains from spawning. Both deer and black bears wander through the two-hector lot on occasion.  Snow is starting to collect higher up on the mountains to the west. I’ve signed up again as a volunteer ski instructor with the adaptive snow school group and the mountain opens for skiing on Dec. 10.

Me, Alan Robb, I’ve been around a university for 11 years as a student and 10 years as a prof., a research centre for 8 years, and a consultant for 25 years.  If interested please contact me through my email alanrskitalk@gmail.com .  I live on the west coast for 7 mo and 5 mo in central Canada.

Some References  (revised 01- Nov 23/21)

1.    - Why is temperature sensitivity important for the success of common respiratory viruses?                                 Eccles R.,      Rev Med Virol. 2020;e02153.

                  https://doi.org/10. 1002/rmv.2153

     2.   -Body temperature and host species preferences of SARS-CoV-2.

        Uzoigwe, Chika         Edward   https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(20)30424-9/pdf

3.   -The Effects of Temperature and Relative Humidity on the Viability of the SARS                        coronavirus,    K. H. Chan, et al,        https://www.hindawi.com/journals/av/2011/734690/

4.   -Role of fever and ambient temperature in COVID-19

               Muhammad Hamdan Gul,a Zin Mar Htun,b and Asad Inayatc 

5.   -Animal and translational models of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID19                                                                       M. D.  Johansen1, et al,    

          Mucosal Immunology (2020) 13:877–891;

           https://doi.org/10.1038/s41385-020-00340-z 

 6.  -Fever and the thermal regulation of immunity: the immune system feels the heat 

           Sharon S. Evans, Elizabeth A. Repasky, and Daniel T. Fisher HHS Author      Manuscripts   PMC4786079

7.  Protective Facemask Impact on Human Thermoregulation: An Overview

           Raymond J. Roberge*, Jung-Hyun Kim and Aitor Coca

        https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mer069  

 8. Local Hyperthermia benefits natural and experimental common colds

        David Tyrrell, Ian Barrow, James Arthur

        BMJ 002231-0020  1989

 9.  Turning up the heat on COVID-19: heat as a therapeutic intervention[version 2; approved]

          Marc Cohen,   Extreme wellness Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

          http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.23299.2

 10. Literature Review of the Effect of Temperature and Humidity on Viruses

         Farhad Memarzadeh, PhD, PE

         orf.od.nih.gov

 

 

A mechanical engineers version of a Colds, including flu and COVID-19 Morphology (Revision 1)

 

I have tried several versions of this diagram and this is the best of the lot.  There are  problems because of the many variables. So I have divided the life cycle of colds into five stages where obvious changes occur. The life cycle goes from left to right, stages 0 to 5, as you will note the vertical dotted lines and at the bottom of the graph, the stage.

In stage 0, is where I’m stalled and now have been vaccinated 3 times.  I hope to stay there.  Others are not so lucky. The rules are that avoid close encounters, crowds, and wear at least some form of a mask.  I’ve included reference 7 on this topic. My wife is immune-compromised and by default so am I.

In the graph, the most important items are the response curves and their total response lines. The latter is the red solid and dotted lines closest to the horizontal axis, the sum of the red and blue line responses. I should have used orange.

Stage 1 is one of the variables, the density and duration time of exposure.  Infected people that are shedding viruses form a small aerosol cloud in front of them. The cloud is reinforced at leased every breath they release, about 16 times a minute. It is like a cloud of smoke you can’t see or smell. How close you get to a source and how long you stay there, will determine the rate of virus replication. Low, Medium, and High.

Stage 2  seems to take 1 to 4 days. The rate of virus replication is staggering.  I haven’t put scale values on the vertical axis below or above the horizontal axis. But the units go something like this, 1000, 100,000, 10,000,000, 10⁹, etc.  Symptoms such as fever, coughing, extra mucus. You know the list. Meanwhile, the adaptive system is detecting the intruder and developing antibodies targeted to eliminate them.

Stage 2-3  the treatment I promote should be applied when the symptoms have been determined.   Sooner is better than later to minimize the amount of damage. It can be argued that a later response will build up your immunity but why would you risk the loss of taste and smell, damage to your sinuses, etc.

Stage 3, The production of antibodies is a high response most of the time. But viruses have had a head start and therefore some catching up is needed by antibody production. The net effect is shown between the solid red and dashed lines just below the horizontal axis. When the rate of antibody production is greater that than the rate of virus replication then the cold duration is only 7 to 11 days roughly.  This is at the first blue and red vertical dotted lines. 

Stage 4, But if the development of antibodies is a weak response, (the lower red dashed line), and the virus is stopped, (the vertical red dashed line) because there are no more cells to corrupt, then the cold continues in stage 4. I can only speculate what happens in this last stage. I think this is where shortness of breath starts.  Several things are starting or pending. If you are lucky it all stops here. The viruses can’t survive in the higher temperature and humidity in the lungs, nor can they survive the demolition process in the digestion system. So it must be bacteria part of the immune system defense has been destroyed in the nasal cavity and the pharynx, nose, and throat.  Not a good place to be.

 That is the best that I can do. It is a little complicated. How can this be used? If you have a fever, that seems to be the first line of defense.  They have tested on mice and found that when you let nature prevail and don’t take fever depressants your survival chances are much greater. Researchers use special mice that mimic our responses. What is interesting to me is the response curves or net effect. If you have a high mean temperature and metabolic rate you are likely in the 95 - 99% that will survive. Your immune response curve will be steeper and the cold will stop sooner.

What worries me is how close the response are.  Even if you have vaccination and you still get the virus your starting point for the blue line starts much sooner and thus you are still a way ahead of the virus. Stage 2 is shortened and the net response is much less and the cold stops sooner.  It should be noted the diagram will be different for everyone.  It can be generalized to fit a population but that is a big job and you must have access to the data.

The last point is that the red lines stop when the treatment is applied.  Pharmaceutical companies are working on pills and aerosols now, that will essentially do the same as the heat treatment. I’m partial to my generic solution.

Alan Robb, PhD, Engineer

P.S.  I am not the first person using heat to stop colds in the upper respiratory tract.  One of the earliest was David Tyrrell in 1989 and more recently Marc Cohen in 2020. They should have been include in the original list.  I've added the latter two to my references attached.  

Comment:  To my knowledge I'm the only one suggesting blocking the nose and applying surface heat.

Some References  (revised 02- Nov 23/21)

1.    - Why is temperature sensitivity important for the success of common respiratory        viruses?                       Eccles R.,      Rev Med Virol. 2020;e02153.

                  https://doi.org/10. 1002/rmv.2153

     2.   -Body temperature and host species preferences of SARS-CoV-2.

        Uzoigwe, Chika         Edward   https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(20)30424-9/pdf

3.   -The Effects of Temperature and Relative Humidity on the Viability of the SARS                        coronavirus,    K. H. Chan, et al,        https://www.hindawi.com/journals/av/2011/734690/

4.   -Role of fever and ambient temperature in COVID-19

               Muhammad Hamdan Gul,a Zin Mar Htun,b and Asad Inayatc 

5.   -Animal and translational models of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID19                M. D.     Johansen1, et al,    

          Mucosal Immunology (2020) 13:877–891;

           https://doi.org/10.1038/s41385-020-00340-z 

 6.  -Fever and the thermal regulation of immunity: the immune system feels the heat 

           Sharon S. Evans, Elizabeth A. Repasky, and Daniel T. Fisher HHS Author      Manuscripts   PMC4786079

7.  Protective Facemask Impact on Human Thermoregulation: An Overview

  Raymond J. Roberge*, Jung-Hyun Kim and Aitor Coca

        https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/mer069  

 8. Local Hyperthermia benefits natural and experimiental common colds

        David Tyrrell, Ian Barrow, James Arthur

        BMJ 002231-0020  1989

 9.  Turning up the heat on COVID-19: heat as a therapeutic intervention[version 2; approved]

          Marc Cohen,   Extreme wellness Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

          http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.23299.2

10.  Literature Review of the Effect of Temperature and Humidity on Viruses

       Farhad Memarzadeh, PhD, PE

A Quick Fix For Colds including COVID-19

          A Quick  Fix

This is about a quick fix for colds and COVID-19 and variants. If you have some of the symptoms, have been tested positive and, are not interested in the details here is what you can try. The treatment should be applied when symptoms occur for best results. It is a simple enhancement of the immune system with no pills, no injections, and low to no cost.  It requires that you must block your nose and breathe through your mouth for at least 1.5 hours.  If you are uncomfortable with this, read no further.  For you people that are still with me here is what to do.   

Get some equipment.

·         Something to block your nose. I made a simple nose clip using house wire leaving the insulation on. Shown in the picture with needle-nose pliers and the copper wire diameter and length. Nose clip are available on line at Ebay and Amazon for quantity or, in sports stores and in Canada what we call drug stores. Or a piece of wide medical or hockey tape. 

• ·         A thermometer
• ·         Some way to keep time.
• ·         Pad and pencil.
• ·         A way to keep your body warm and your head in particular. A sweater, head covering, light coat, sauna, warm bath, sun in moderation, skipping for 5 minutes or, some physical activity to increase your body temperature if needed.
• ·         Maybe some way to heat your sinuses around your nose if they are bothering you. I use a heating pad but hand, foot, and body warmers pad wrapped in a layer of cotton cloth will work. Follow the instructions on the package.  The local price where I live is about $1 per pad.
• ·         You may need some nose tissue of some sort.
• ·         You will need to be hydrated so have a supply of water, tea, coffee but not alcohol.
• ·         Some entertainment to divert your mind.

Pre-treatment

• ·         If you have taken any cold or anti-fever pills that contain acetaminophen (Paracetamol), Ibuprofen, and Aspirin, wait until they stop being effective. Some last  12 to 24 hours.  Fever is your friend and best defense mechanism. 
• ·         Get warm until you perspire. Measure your temperature orally under and at the back of your tongue. Your reading should be 37 ⁰C or 98.6 ⁰F  for your core temperature to be (38-39 ⁰C) or (100.4-102.2 ⁰F). This method reads low by almost 1 C to 2 F. If you don’t have a thermometer but an apparent temperature that will be a good start.
• ·         Find a warm place where you can be comfortable for 1.5 to 2.5 hours. Note that if you use a hot tub make sure the water temperature is below 39.4 ⁰C or 103 ⁰F and set an alarm for 2 hours. You don’t want to cook.

 Treatment

• ·         Start when you are warm and comfortable.
• ·         Block your nose so that no air can come in or leave using one of the nose blockers           mentioned above. Your nose produces a unique oil that should be cleaned with               soap and water.
• ·         Record your time and temperature.
• ·         Sip fluids as you progress
• ·         Stay warm and comfortable for about 1.5 to 2.5 hours. If you wish you can unblock your nose for a few minutes (2-5), particularly if necessary to swallow. At first, it takes about 10-15 minutes to heat your nasal cavity and throat to your core temperature.  This is the start of the demise of cold viruses. The duration time for this to happen depends on the upper limit of the particular cold virus. COVID-19 seems to be sensitive to temperatures just above 37.5 ⁰C and rhinoviruses slightly higher. My personal experience with the latter is a duration time of about ½ hour with the temperature about 39 ⁰C.
• ·         If your sinuses and nasal cavity are clear you are done.
• ·         If your sinuses are blocked in any way, this is a good time to add heat to them. Concentrate the heat to the forehead just above the nose and the top of the nose then both cheeks just below the eyes, 15 to 10 minutes at each location.
• My advice is to repeat the process the next day if not completely cleared after the first treatment.

Note:  For the best results this treatment should be applied as soon as any of the symptoms appear. Waiting a few days will help to build up your immune system but on the downside, your sensors for smelling may have more damage. As the viruses multiply the channels that connect to your hearing and eye can become compromised and this is when strange sensations start to happen.  If you wait too long before applying this treatment and your fever rises too high then you are in trouble and must take measure to cool you body quickly.

For more information, you can click on the link on the right How to Cure Common Cold(6) or look at a few of the previous posts.

Good luck,

Alan Robb, Ph.D.  (aka AlanR the engineer) 

 

 

About a Treatment for the Common Cold, Including COVID-19

 

COVID-19 has for more than a year highjacked my mind and website. My initial goal was to help keep my local ski mountain open for the next season. The ski season opened but not because of my efforts. 

Over the last few years, I had found that by applying sufficient heat to my sinuses and nasal cavities the colds would go away. But after reading and learning about where colds develop in our upper respiratory tract I began to understand some of the medical language, terms, and processes. I had a mission to determine why I got positive results for this simple application of heat. Why did my simple treatment work? 

The pink and red are the areas of interest

I found that there has been extensive study of the rhinoviruses but most of it concerned the mechanism on how cold viruses were able to multiply and the conditions necessary and how to block the process.  There is little information on how to destroy the viruses directly once the replication has begun. I knew from previous experience that viruses have upper-temperature limits and eventually found that for cold viruses humidity also plays an important part.

The general information is that our chances of survival after being infected are quite high but very good for younger people and less as a person ages. High infection and old age are a bad combination. Why is this? Speculating it could be a combination of the amount of physical activity, metabolic rate, and a lower core temperature as we age. It may also depend on the virus variant and its upper-temperature sensitivity when the viruses fail.

When I discovered that the upper sensitivity of the coronavirus was possibly as low as 37.5 ⁰C On my own I discovered that by blocking my nose and breathing through my mouth, can raise the nasal cavity and nasopharynx (top of throat tube) to my body core temperature, I knew that it was possible to make my treatment workable for most people. By concentrating the added heat application at the center of the pink zone, (figure top right above) the transmitted heat is sufficient to meet the criteria of 38-39 ⁰C and >95% relative humidity. But if the core temperature is in the above criteria range because of a fever or higher metabolic rate, adding extra heat may not be necessary.

So you don’t have to look at all the previous posts I made a PDF download of  How to Cure Common Cold(6)  Or in the separate list to the right. The first portion before I added the previous posts is all you need to get started. The following previous posts have the information on how and where to apply extra heat. I liked the post immediately following this one, on "Tinkering with Colds", which is included at the end of this summary. 

Does this this treatment work?  I don’t know the efficacy of this treatment. All I know is that it works for me and my friends, and over 11,000 views from countries around the world. No person or organization has commented, just me, as a test. So if you wish to comment, send me a note at:   alanrskitalk@gmail.com 

Good luck and good health to you. 

AlanR, the engineer

 

Tinkering with Colds (more coronaviruses stuff, Revision 1)

The infrared gun gives both the target
 and background temperature values.

If you look closely at how the components of our immune system work, the coronavirus, and other cold viruses, could be dispatched readily if you chose not to tinker with them.  We know more about viruses and their morphology than we did 60 years ago.  Our body has a very sophisticated system for dealing with pathogens and is worth looking at its advantages and shortcomings.

When you get a cold, a fever is one of the first reactions of the immune system. This raises our mean temperature to a level equal to the sensitivity temperature of most cold viruses. This is good because most cold viruses reproduce between 30-33 ⁰C and relative humidity (RH) 45%, slow reproduction significantly at normal core temperature, and meet their demise at > (38-39) ⁰C and RH>95%. The higher fever temperature will prevent the virus from doing damage to the lungs. Taking fever suppressants such as acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen will prolong the cold and may increase the probability of serious damage. Another point about fever is that it may suggest that you feel chilled.  It is best to add more covering, as fever is a high energy user, and this will help you to reach the higher needed temperature.

The immune system also increases the production of mucus. This helps to wash away some of the reproduced viruses and debris caught or created. Mucus can also plug your nose valves at the outer end of the nose. When this happens, the temperature will rise in the Upper Respiratory Tract (URT) to your core temperature. Also, the RH will be similar to the lungs, >95%.  This condition will cause the end of the viruses and probably the way people survived in the past. Breathing through the mouth can be uncomfortable but if you are engaged in any physical activity, that breathing through the nose is insufficient, breathing through the mouth is automatic. We tinker by clearing the nose too soon.

The immune system gets busy creating antibodies for the future and present. There is a race between the viruses and the antibodies and many factors cause the outcome. This is the portion of the immune system that pharmaceutical companies tinker with. Vaccines created are often immune system enhancers. They precondition the immune system by helping it create antibodies for specific viruses.

It is critical to treat a cold immediately on infection, to avoid damage to your major sensor systems, smell, sight, and hearing. Viruses can play havoc with the various tube openings in the URT, and mucus can plug these important channels, a shortcoming.  Any disturbance has a very short distance to the brain which may cause something unpredictable.

So, I propose to tinker positively. People that have tested positive (long haulers?) and have no fever, maybe reservoirs, and may have a high metabolic rate. It is still necessary to assume infection.  Adding heat as suggested or by a workout, or some way to increase the core temperature (38-39) ⁰C, then block the nose for an hour or so. 

If your old and have a core temperature of about 36.3 ⁰C like me, do one of the treatments adding heat with a heating pad or hand warmer as suggested in my previous post. A couple of repeats may be necessary or two short ones a day apart if you prefer. Add extra covering, hats, coats, sweaters, layers, etc.

Some other alternatives are hot tubs if you are accustomed to them. Or a sauna will work provided the temperature and humidity reach the demise criteria above.

How will you know if the treatment works? I did my treatment at night before going to bed and the colds were usually gone by morning. The residue if I waited too long to apply a treatment, took a few days to clear up. You should feel better almost when you finish.

What I would love to happen is a proper test in vivo, for efficacy, and parameter variations. If you are reading this you will note at the bottom there is a place to comment. There is only one comment, mine to see if it works. So I’m cruising blind and hoping I am helping and not causing any harm.  Please comment!

I’m in the process of writing a summary and putting all the posts about colds and COVID-19 as a download under my ski manual and video.  As an engineer, I apply science and don’t necessarily create it. Like pharmaceuticals, the treatments I suggest are also enhancements to our immune system  but applied after infection, not for prevention.

There are 5 pervious posts about COVID-19. You may have to click on older posts below to see all of them.