The Covid-19 Vaccinations started in December last year. However, the vaccines are still in their early stages, and there’s no guaranteed lifetime of the vaccine yet. That, along with the high number of new cases, there’s still a long battle ahead of us. Home remedies are popular right now, and many people are trying different things. Furthermore, people are trying to use other things to either cure COVID-related illness or mitigate the symptoms caused by the virus. One of those is the use of CBD to fight COVID symptoms. We can consume it in multiple ways like CBD oil, isolate, and even edibles like the Sunday Scaries CBD gummies. But can CBD cure COVID-19?
How Does the Coronavirus Work?
COVID-19 has multiple spiky proteins on its surface that latch onto healthy cell receptors, particularly in the lungs. These proteins usually make their way through the ACE2 receptors. As the virus makes its way inside, it seizes the healthy cells and kills most of them.
COVID-19 has multiple spiky proteins on its surface that latch onto healthy cells’ receptors, particularly in the lungs. These proteins usually make their way through the ACE2 receptors. As the virus makes its way inside, it seizes the healthy cells and kills some of them.
The virus severely affects the respiratory region, including your mouth, nose, throat, and lungs. COVID-19 also has a higher probability of going deeper than other viruses. This action is due to the higher number of ACE2 receptors in lower airways. This behavior also makes COVID-19 much more dangerous than a common cold or similar illness. Furthermore, as the virus enters the lungs, it makes it difficult to breathe for the patient.
For the most part, about 80% of the people only have minor symptoms like cold and fever. However, some patients can have a severe infection. About five to eight days after the symptoms begin, some patients may have shortness of breath. This condition further leads to acute respiratory disease syndrome (ARDS) after a few days.
What Can CBD Do?
As you may have heard, cannabinoids like CBD have several properties that help you treat numerous medical conditions. CBD mainly shows hope as it has inflammatory properties and the ability to treat pain and anxiety. Therefore, CBD coupled with other cannabinoids or terpenes might potentially fight against COVID-19.
COVID-19 also shows increased issues for people with blood coagulation. The cannabis extracts also show reduced blood coagulation in animals. So, it may be possible to use CBD and other components to manage these sequelae.
CBD to Prevent COVID-19
The research on CBD regarding its potential against COVID-19 is limited. However, there is a study that examines the possibility of incorporating CBD with mouthwashes and gargling liquids. The research aims to reduce or maintain the ACE2 levels in high-risk tissues. The ability to modulate ACE2 levels can tremendously improve health in the later stages of the progression of ACE2 levels.
Reducing The Impact and Severity of COVID-19
COVID-19 is known to cause damage to the immune system with hyperinflation. The virus releases too many cytokine proteins into the body. These proteins tend to attack the lungs and overwhelm the immune system heavily. This phenomenon is called cytokine storm syndrome. The evidence so far leads to the idea that CBD has inflammatory properties and can benefit patients’ recovery.
While the reaction could be lower, the immunity system is not entirely passive. CannaSoul Analytics Israel’s study indicates that cannabinoids and terpenes are more effective than other drugs to reduce inflammation. However, the research has not been peer-reviewed yet.
Another research focuses on cell therapy treatment using CBD-loaded exosomes to treat COVID-19. The technology aims to target the nervous system and the COVID-19 coronavirus. The therapy can help improve damaged organs like infected lungs in synergy with the inflammatory properties.
CBD has shown many other potential benefits, which remain unexplored on COVID-19 patients, but it might help.
CBD for Body Pain
COVID-19 has shown the symptom of body pain for many patients. These include body aches, sore throat, and headaches. CBD is best known to help this condition. It can induce pain relief by increasing serotonin’s effects. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that reduces pain. So, using CBD can help COVID-19 patients relieve body aches caused by the virus.
CBD for Anxiety
COVID-19 started in the later stages of 2019 and has taken many lives. Naturally, a patient is bound to go through some anxiety related to their health. They are a long way from their friends and family, causing more stress. CBD is most commonly consumed for its anxiety relief and the power to calm you down. COVID-19 patients can use some CBD gummies to help them shut some of the anxiety.
Possibility of More Research Related to The Use of CBD for COVID-19
CBD and other cannabinoids face strict rules due to their notorious reputation in the eyes of the Government concerning cannabis. Much of the research in any other field is restricted, and COVID-19 is no exception. However, the Government must understand that the coronavirus situation is not getting better. We need to focus our resources on finding alternative medicines like CBD and cannabis to help cure COVID-19. There is also a high possibility of another strain of the coronavirus developing in the future. Therefore, if we can find a reliable alternative medicine, we can treat the patients better.
Conclusion
As we go back to square one to answer if CBD can treat COVID-19, it’s a simple no for that. The hypothesis and initial studies show that it can work well against COVID. However, it’s just too early to determine the guaranteed effects of CBD to treat COVID-19. To accelerate the research, the FDA needs to loosen up and let institutions conduct studies. Companies that develop therapies and tests for COVID-19 can increase the funding to find more solid evidence and get to a better conclusion. This situation will most likely take several months or more to get permission and the studies themselves. If CBD proves beneficial for the COVID-19 pandemic, we can also see it taking a better spotlight.
