Nasal sprays are not recommended by officials to stop coronavirus, the Isle of Wight’s public health chief has warned.
It comes as people are turning to different ways to protect themselves against the latest strain of COVID-19 which is 70% more transmissible.
At a meeting of the Local Outbreak Engagement Board on Thursday, one councillor had said there had been an increase in advertising for nasal sprays which supposedly coated the nasal passages and in turn the virus, stopping it from getting into people’s lungs and spreading further.
Asked about the effectiveness of the sprays, the Island’s director of public health, Simon Bryant, urged people to be careful when seeing this kind of advertisement.He said:
“We know this virus spreads through droplets from our mouth and nose, so we need to prevent the spread by stopping that transmission through to other people.
“There are a lot of things on the market which say they will make a difference – please do not buy those unless they are recommended and we are not recommending any of them.”
Public Health England has looked at the best was to stop the spread of the virus, in light of the new variant, and said it was clear the transmission was around the hands and face.
Mr Bryant encouraged people to continue to take action against the spread by washing hands frequently, not touching your face, wearing a mask and ventilating rooms when people are indoors.
The new variant of the virus, which has caused COVID rates on the Island to rocket, is accountable for 90 per cent of the Isle of Wight’s cases.
What about plugs to fit inside the nostrils?
I did consider wearing a snorkel mask and having the end of the tube go into a box filled with cotton wool soaked in alcohol. But it steamed up too much and was uncomfortable to wear.
Surely we need something to cover our eyes nose and mouth on the lines of the old gas masks now?
A flimsy piece of felt, with more gaps around the edges is proving worthless.
Unless we get the vaccine soon I fear most will catch this unless better full face coverings are made available now.
The virus is mutating at an alarming rate, and how long before the vaccine is ineffective if we don’t get the population jabbed very soon.
Stay in doors and don’t eat or touch what you buy or touch letter or post for two days, as the virus stays alive in cold weather far longer.
The idiots even wanted me to have a smart meter fitted in this environment. Madness.
Jim think you can overly worry. So long as you avoid people and places where they are like supermarkets etc, as much as possible a mask is not perfect and you can smear alcohol gel around the edge of your mouth and nose.
My worry is if this mutates and starts taking the children soon. As they are naturally unable to understand the full implications of protection then many white coffins will very soon amass. God forbid that happens but bad to see the old go, let alone our future generations.
Stay safe mate.
What type of idiot would think a nasal spray would be effective against Covid? Maybe the idea came from Trump who thought a bleach injection would work…
Advert for a nasal spray below this article, LOL.
I can understand being told not to in any way rely on them, but unless they are saying it has some danger I can see no reason not to use them as an added precaution.
‘First Defence’ works for the common cold.(But I’m not suggesting it would work for COVID)