The unique daily routine that kept an Australian professor from contracting Covid-19… or a cold and flu for three years
- Prof Don Campbell uses heparin based nasal spray
- He believes it has protected him from contracting a virus
A medical professor believes he has managed to avoid contracting Covid throughout the pandemic by using a simple nasal spray daily.
Professor Don Campbell, the director of Northern Health’s Hospital Without Walls program in Victoria, has had a solution of the drug heparin sprayed into his nose every morning and evening since May 2020.
Heparin is an anticoagulant used to prevent blood clotting, strokes and heart attacks, but Prof. Campbell says when used via a nasal spray it is completely safe and cannot be absorbed by the body as a blood thinner.
“We weren’t looking for a solution to our Covid pandemic from the nose, and yet everyone in healthcare knows it’s a nasal infection, it infects your nose first,” the professor told 3AW.
Professor Don Campbell, (pictured) the director of Northern Health’s Hospital Without Walls program in Victoria, has had a solution of the drug heparin sprayed into his nose every morning and evening since May 2020
“My simple thought was, if it’s a nasal infection, why don’t we prevent the nose from getting infected?”
Heparin has already been shown to block flu in lab settings.
“I thought, why don’t you inject heparin into it, it will bind and stick to the (Covid) protein spike like mud on a blanket and prevent it from spreading,” the professor added.
The hope is that the heparin will cover the Covid protein spike, which is responsible for infection, and prevent it from being passed on to humans.
A heparin-based nasal spray is not for sale, with Prof. Campbell coming up with his own solution.
He also takes a bottle of it with him when he goes to crowded places, such as sports games or shopping malls.
Since incorporating the spray into his routine, he has remained free of covid-19, colds, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and flu infections.
Prof Campbell is now asking volunteers to take part in a study to test the effectiveness of heparin on Covid infections (woman pictured wearing face mask in Sydney shopping center)
Prof Campbell and a team of researchers from The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, University of Melbourne and Monash University are now asking for volunteers to take part in a study testing the effectiveness of heparin on Covid infections.
“Recent studies suggest that it binds to the COVID-19 virus and may reduce the ability of the virus to enter cells,” said the study explains.
“We believe that heparin may have the potential to treat people with early COVID-19 infections and prevent infection among their close household contacts, thereby curbing the spread of the virus.”
The study requires one Covid-positive person from a household, along with a family member who is not infected.
A total of 400 households are needed for the study.
Participants are given a nasal spray, heparin, or a saline solution that acts as a placebo.
They then use the spray three times a day for ten days.
The hardest part for researchers now is finding participants, as many now don’t bother testing themselves for the virus.
Those with the virus must notify the researchers within 72 hours of testing positive.