Could SALT WATER fight Covid-19? Scientists launch trial of unusual remedy as evidence shows it could reduce symptoms and shorten illness

Salt water could treat Covid-19, according to scientists who will test whether the unusual remedy actually works.
Salt water could treat Covid-19, according to scientists who will test whether the unusual remedy actually works.

Knowing how to treat Covid-19 is still a grey area for doctors, with people with mild symptoms advised to stick to paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Two antivirals have been approved for NHS use on critically-ill patients, the steroid dexamethasone, and an anti-Ebola drug remdesivir — but neither are silver bullets.

The Edinburgh scientists now want to find out if the low-cost salt water option could help people with mild infections and also stop them getting more seriously ill.

The idea for the study came from ongoing research into upper respiratory infections — which commonly cause coughs and colds.

People with those illnesses were found to benefit from gargling regularly with salt water in a trial dubbed ELVIS (Edinburgh and Lothians Viral Intervention Study).

Results from the ELVIS trial, published last year, found people who gargled saline had less severe coughs, less congestion and colds that lasted two days less, on average.   

They were also less likely to pass on the cold to family members, or to resort to taking medicines from a pharmacy, compared to people who did not gargle. 

The Edinburgh team, whose original study included a different type of coronavirus, think the salt water could boost the body's natural virus-fighting mechanisms, which are triggered when they get ill. 

They suggested direct contact with salt has a toxic effect on the viruses themselves, or stimulates 'innate immune mechanisms' inside cells in the airways. 

Salt may also be used by the body's cells to create a chemical called hypochlorous acid, which is found in bleach and known to kill viruses, the researchers said. 

Professor Aziz Sheikh, director of Edinburgh University’s Usher Institute, said: 'We are now moving to trial our salt water intervention in those with suspected or confirmed Covid-19, and hope it will prove to be a useful measure to reduce the impact and spread of the infection.

'It only requires salt, water and some understanding of [gargling] procedure, so should, if found to be effective, be easy – and inexpensive – to implement widely.'

The NHS currently only has treatments for coronavirus patients who are seriously ill, and those still do not work for everyone. 

One is the steroid dexamethasone, which a study found could cut death rates in intensive care patients by up to a third.

And the second is an Ebola drug called remdesivir, which has shown promising results in shortening recovery times.