Does Intranasal Red Light Therapy Work For Covid?
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Covid-19 was declared a pandemic disease by World Health Organization on 11th March 2020. The infection propagates rapidly, with one infected person spreading the infection to the other 3. Usually, the active disease phase lasts for 4 weeks, and initial 10 days are advised to be spent in complete isolation. However, the story never ends here. Some people experience post covid symptoms, also known as long covid, even after their active viral phase is passed.
It’s majorly seen that individuals with suboptimal immune defenses experience post covid symptoms. It presents with a variety of symptoms ranging from mild to severe. The mild symptoms include cough, fever, insomnia, ageusia, smell loss, and difficulty breathing, while severe symptoms commonly include pneumonia and other opportunistic infectious and metabolic diseases.
Immunity plays a massive role in saving selves from the pathogen that rests within ourselves or those that gain entry into our bodies through external routes. The exacerbated production of pro-inflammatory cytokines is a potent reason for introducing variable diseases. In people with optimum immune response, viruses are eliminated from the body with the help of special white blood cells, which reduces the overall chance of infection cultivation. The immune system works alongside the brain and body to produce physiological changes that promote long-term health.
Traditional medical interventions for post covid symptoms include antibiotics, antihistamines, corticosteroids, and antivirals. However, these medications have their own set of side effects, such as dizziness, weight gain from steroids, drowsiness from antihistamines, and nausea and vomiting from antibiotics.
Long-Covid Condition Presents With Psychological Symptoms
In simpler terms, long covid refers to an ongoing health deterioration post mild or severe coronavirus attack. The reason is the persistent mechanism called viremia, which is active viral replication.
In addition to the physical symptoms described above, some people experience psychological symptoms as part of their long covid condition. These can include feelings of sadness, anxiety, anger, or irritability. For example, some people experience a loss of appetite and weight loss as part of their long covid condition. Others may feel extremely fatigued or experience changes in their sleeping patterns.
Intranasal red light therapy releases photobiomodulation waves deep within the sinuses and nasal passages, where it can help boost the immune system and reduce inflammation.
It particularly helps in relieving neurological symptoms. A few such symptoms are listed below:
- Brain fog
- Headache
- Insomnia
- Lightheadedness
- Depression and anxiety
- Change in taste and smell
- Memory Loss
Phototherapy Has Been A Mode of Treatment Since the Ages
Phototherapy dates back to treating illnesses in ancient Greece, and this is called Heliotherapy. People were left under the sun to treat skin diseases, and today low-level laser therapy is used to treat major health conditions.
According to one such research, ‘heliotherapy, in fact, was touted to “cure weak and flabby muscles” and increase muscle size by Greek physicians such as Antyllus and philosophers such as Herodotus.’
How Does Intranasal Infrared Light Therapy Help Relieve General Covid Symptoms?
Infrared light has shown clinical improvements in mild and severe symptoms in patients suffering from SARS-CoV-2. Photobiomodulation improves tissue vascularization and improves olfactory symptoms and cough symptoms overall. It provides neuroprotection by pursuing an anti-inflammatory approach to improve the overall quality of life.
Immune modulation and biostimulation go hand in hand when PBMT comes into discussion. The greater anti-inflammatory cytokine expression and decreased pro-inflammatory product secretion regulate the body's internal healing mechanism by inviting immune cells to kick off the viral load. The increased regeneration effect through light therapy is majorly seen due to the absorption of photons by the photoreceptors on the tissues.
Furthermore, it enhances nitrous oxide production to dissociate the thrombi that form in the covid patients.
Infrared light also stabilizes the red blood cell membrane to prevent hemolysis within the body when red cells break down at an incredible pace. Additionally, gut microbiota and the inflammatory state of the body are interlinked. When covid hits, striking a balance between pro and anti-inflammatory states gets difficult for the body.
These inturns lead to a low immunity index and enhance the risk of respiratory diseases because the gut and lungs are interconnected.
Likewise, the brain and gut are connected through an enteric nervous system. Intranasal infrared light therapy help stabilizes the gut microbiome by increasing the enteric system’s blood circulation.
How Does Photobiomodulation Help Relieve Neurological Symptoms in Post-Covid Patients?
Research conducted in 2021 shows that photobiomodulation therapy causes neuroprotection through anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant pathways.
Red and near-infrared light work on the principle of photobiomodulation. Low-level infrared and near-infrared laser light therapy is highly researched and is known to bring about internal repair and regeneration effects at the sub-cellular level.
It vitalizes the overall living pattern by introducing non-frictional functional rehabilitation to an individual.
The light penetrates the skull through nasal routes to stimulate the production of exogenous molecules to improve overall circulation in the brain.
This improved circulation, thereby helping build more synapses to improve memory and strengthen the cognitive symptom. It also relieves the symptoms of lightheadedness, anxiety, depression, and brain fog.
PBMT stimulates the immune cells and causes them to clump together at the infectious site to enhance the anti-cytokine effect and decrease the pro-inflammatory effect.
How Boosting Your Immune System Will Help You Fight Your Post-Covid Symptoms?
Modulating the immune system is the only way to escape viral loading and post-covid health problems that happens to continue over a long period. Boost your immune system by adopting healthy practices to surpass the symptomatic stage of the disease. Here are some straightforward ways to do it the right way:
- Exercise daily. It will ensure your optimum physical and mental health by building immunity and optimum physical health.
- Adopt healthy eating habits—the better the diet and the eating schedule, the better the lifestyle and immunity.
- Vitamin D and zinc capsules have immunomodulatory effects.
- Photobiomodulation has an anti-inflammatory response that accelerates immunity-building effects.
Wrapping Up
Low-level laser light therapy activates microcirculation and regeneration and local inflammatory sites at an immense pace. Therefore, intranasal infrared laser therapy works well to relieve olfactory, lung-based symptoms, neurocognitive, and cardiovascular symptoms in covid patients. It helps reduce gut inflammation and supports the optimal functioning of the immune system to fight against the pathogen. Its neuroprotective effects also protect other organs from the damage of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
If you or a loved one suffers from covid symptoms, consider using intranasal infrared light therapy for fast relief. Overall, intranasal infrared light therapy is a promising treatment option for those suffering from the symptoms of long covid. It has been shown to reduce olfactory and respiratory symptoms and promote neurocognitive health and optimal immune function.