Top doctor comes up with 'must-have' Covid-19 cocktail to reduce severe illness

As the Health Ministry is overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients requiring admission in public health and private hospitals, a leading medical practitioner F Mamvura has come up with a proposal termed The CovidCocktail  which he says helps to prevent severe illness and help a patient to recover without hospitalisation.

According to Mamvura, the country's four major hospitals (Parirenyatwa, Sally Mugabe, Mpilo, and United Bulawayo Hospitals)  can only admit a maximum number of 2000 patients a day and the rest of small hospitals across the country can only admit 200.

This means at least 4 million adults cannot be admitted to these public institutions at once.

Mamvura, therefore, suggested medicines that can be used which are, steroids, blood thinners or anti-coagulants, anti-biotics, and stomach protection which are mostly prescription drugs are a must-have.

"We all know how stretched our health services are especially in this Pandemic. Steroids, either Prednisolone or Dexamethasone for 5-7 days. Steroids are the mainstay of a counter-action of an attack from a Covid-19 virus to the human body ( the so-called Cytokine Storm). Steroids counteract this cytokine storm. Using steroids early on in Covid infection reduces your chance of deterioration and may help avoid hospital admission," he wrote on his blog.

"Blood thinners or anticoagulants are commonly known to prevent clot formation or to help with clot destruction. In Covid-19 Enoxaparin has been the commonly studied drug to prevent clot formation in infected patients. It is also known as Clexanethis is an injection given twice per day – however, this may be expensive for many in Zimbabwe. Second line to Enoxaparin is Xarelto or Apixaban. They belong to the same family, but these are taken as tablets, these are equally expensive in a country like Zimbabwe," Mamvura highlighted.

The medical doctor also warned that although antibiotics do not treat Covid-19 they reduce the chance of a super-added infection worsening your chest or breathing symptoms.

"There is a wide choice out there. Suggestions for Zimbabwe would be antibiotics such as Azithromycin, Clarithromycin, Doxycycline, Amoxicillin, Co-amoxiclav, but honestly, any good antibiotic will do.

"Antibiotics are antimicrobial substances active against bacteria. They do not treat viruses like Covid-19. Their role in Covid-19 is to treat or prevent bacterial infections which take advantage of your compromised situation when you get Covid-19 illness," added Mamvura.

Among the four suggested drugs, stomach protection has also been identified as the most needed form of medication for those who suffer from indigestion or heartburn especially when they have to use a steroid as well.

"I recommend Omepraxole, Pantopraxole, Esomeprazole, Lansoprazole, or Cimetidine but please desist from using Ranitidine as it has been taken off the shelf the world over. Stomach Lining Protectors, eg Gaviscon or MMT, these drugs soothe and coat the stomach lining and/or neutralize acids. They can be used if one cannot afford the ones above."

He also urged people to have devices such as Pulse Oximeter. Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive method for monitoring a person's oxygen saturation; Glucometer or a glucose meter is a medical device for determining the approximate concentration of glucose in the blood.

Lastly, Mamvura suggested Panadol, Paracetamol, or Ibuprofen which are common painkillers that can be used to reduce high temperatures.

"Paracetamol and Ibuprofen are common painkillers used to treat aches and pain. They can also be used to reduce a high temperature. They are available over the counter or even in some supermarkets. They are sometimes combined for a wide range of cold and flu remedies."

More information on Dr Mamvura's remedies can be found on his website: Zimpatient.com, where material used for this article first appeared