September 17, 2020
Vitamin D and other bits
Slowly bits of information emerge from observations about the virus. Some are just observations, with nothing to confirm. Humans, however, are good at looking for signs to confirm and then easily jumping to a conclusion, influenced by our biases. Happens all the time. It is good to be skeptical.
A good example is this data emerging about possible protection from infection of SARS-CoV-2 by wearing glasses. Data shows that the number of people infected in a province of China was lower than expected if they wore glasses, based on the number of people in that province that have myopia. Should we all start wearing glasses, goggles, or face shields with our masks? Not so fast, says an editorial in JAMA, where the data is published. The data is provocative, as the editorial calls it, but not confirmative. More data needed. But it is one of those bits to file away, the mechanism makes sense, and I will keep wearing my glasses when I am around others.
One action we can take, with more data emerging that supports its use, is to take a Vitamin D3 supplement. Several different data sets shows that low Vitamin D levels are associated with sicker patients. Taking Vitamin is a simple thing we can do and reasonably safe, but again none of this conclusive.
If you live in Michigan and other parts of the upper mid-west, sadly, advice to be outdoors was turned upside down due to an outbreak of a mosquito-born virus called Eastern Equine Encephalitis. which causes brain inflammation and other symptoms like fevers, chills, and body aches. The advice is to avoid mosquito bites by being indoors in the evening and night time when mosquitos come out. Wearing good insect repellent can help. Stay safe, if you live in Michigan.
And gaiters as face masks have been redeemed, especially if you double the fabric. I am happy with that data because gaiters are easier for many people to wear which might help improve adherence with masking. As I have been saying, the more people mask up, the less transmissions we have, and the sooner we can start to get back to regular life.
Wash your hands, cover your nose, keep safe six. Avoid mosquito bites and take your Vitamin D (D3 is the active kind- 1000-2000 units daily)
And finally, my caveat is that this is my experience and my opinions, which are subject to change as more information is available, and not related to the organization I work for. Thanks for reading.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/937567
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/88654
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/well/live/does-wearing-glasses-protect-you-from-coronavirus.html
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2770873
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/17/health/michigan-eee-case-suspected-trnd/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/17/well/live/coronavirus-gaiters-masks.html
https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-vaccine-redfield-cdc-masks-30db3e33-dc30-40ed-ad5b-f364a0e544c0.html