Gastroenterologist's Advice: How To Strengthen The Gastrointestinal Mucosa So As Not To Catch COVID-19

Gastroenterologist's advice: how to strengthen the gastrointestinal mucosa so as not to catch COVID-19

Mucous membranes not only serve as a physical barrier to pathogens, but also serve as local immune defense. A person whose mucous membranes - both the respiratory tract and the gastrointestinal tract - are in good condition, can avoid infection even in the same room as the infected one. Therefore, during the COVID epidemic, doctors advise to strengthen local immunity through the restoration of mucous membranes

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How mucous membranes protect a person

All mucous membranes protect a person from pathogenic bacteria, toxins, viruses. How? Easier than ever - with the help of mucus. Slime - or in other words mucin - is needed to mechanically protect cells from "invaders", wash them off and remove them from the body.

In addition, it contains special substances - secretory immunoglobulins, which can neutralize viruses directly where they try to invade the body. This is called local immunity.

A person with weak local immunity often suffers from acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) and is now at risk of contracting coronavirus. After all, COVID-19 enters the body precisely through the mucous membranes. Moreover, not only the respiratory tract, but also the gastrointestinal tract. That is why WHO recommends not to touch your nose, eyes and mouth with unwashed hands.

For local immunity to become strong, it is necessary to strengthen the mucous membranes and improve the quality of mucus. For this, doctors recommend drinking enough water and taking medications to restore mucous membranes.

We increase resistance to infections by strengthening the mucous membranes

In Japan, a drug was developed more than 20 years ago to restore the protective barrier of mucous membranes. Now the drug is produced all over the world: in different countries it is produced under different names (in Russia it is "Rebagit"), but the active ingredient is the same everywhere - rebamipide.

Initially, rebamipide was developed for the gastrointestinal tract, but later it was proved that it strengthens all the mucous membranes of the body, including the respiratory tract. How does this drug work? It has many effects, but now - during the epidemic - the ability of rebamipide to stimulate the production of mucus and improve its quality plays a special role.

Rebamipide has proven itself in the treatment of many gastrointestinal diseases, including those of an infectious nature. For example, it helps fight the pathogenic bacteria Helicobacter pylori, which causes gastritis, erosion and ulcers. Rebamipide simply prevents it from attaching to the mucous membrane of the stomach wall.

The drug has a similar effect on the mucous membranes of the nose, pharynx and respiratory tract. It stimulates the formation of an optimal volume of quality mucus. Thanks to this, the local immunity increases, which we talked about at the beginning.

When choosing any medicine, an important aspect is its safety. Studies have shown that side effects with rebamipide are quite rare, in only 0.54% of cases, and none of them are serious or life-threatening.

Mucous membranes are the body's natural defenses

As you know, neither drugs, nor vaccines, nor special means of prevention against the new type of coronavirus have yet been developed. And it is not known when all these funds will appear. But you need to protect your body. Medicine is well aware of the protective functions of the mucous membranes. The stronger they are, the less chances viruses have. Therefore, now it is necessary not only to thoroughly wash your hands and observe self-isolation, but also to strengthen the mucous membranes - the respiratory tract and the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, this is easy to do: you don't have to invent an effective tool - it has existed for a long time.