Cheap Steroid Inhalers Suppress Severe Covid Symptoms, Study Finds

[Julieanne]

Stuart Layt
February 10 2021

Researchers say their clinical trial using a cheap asthma inhaler to prevent COVID-19 patients developing severe symptoms has produced “incredible” results.
The results give hope the worst effects of the virus can be contained by the easily accessible medication, as the world waits for viable vaccines to be rolled out.
Patients in the trial, conducted in Britain and led by researchers from Australia, were given simple steroid inhalers* when they presented at hospital with symptoms of the disease.QUT associate professor Dan Nicolau, one of the lead researchers on the trial at the University of Oxford, said the results showed the method was extremely effective at preventing severe COVID-19 symptoms.


Read more: https://www.watoday.com.au/national/...10-p5716m.html

[Islander]

A couple of questions. Are all inhalers steroid inhalers? And are they OTC drugs in the US?

A search says that at least one is an OTC inhaler but apparently they are all steroid inhalers, since my emphasizing the term failed to change the outcome.

[Julieanne]

I use Ellipta, which is not a steroid inhaler, and Serratide, which is. No inhalers are OTC in Australia.

https://www.medicinenet.com/asthma_o...nt/article.htm