Treatments Archives

October 14, 2025

Wait, there’s a nasal spray that prevents COVID-19 infection? Yes, please! ..or is it too good to be true?

Heather Duncan, MPH, PhD and Sandy Laping

A recent study showed some promising results that azelastine nasal spray may prevent COVID-19 infection. More research is needed to know if this is true. ❓ What is azelastine? Azelastine (Ah-zeah-las-teen) is an allergy medication that works by blocking histamine, the substance your body releases when you have an allergic reaction. Histamine causes allergic symptoms Read more…

October 7, 2025

There has been a lot about Tylenol in the news lately. Can you explain what the different pain and fever reducers are?

General Health Hot Health Topics Treatments

Cynthia (Cindy) Leifer, PhD

There are multiple over-the-counter fever and pain-reducing medications, but they are not all equal and some can be dangerous for certain people. It is important to know the differences so you can keep you and your family safe. Trying to choose a fever-reducing medication can be confusing. There are so many different drug names and Read more…

August 1, 2025

Osteoporosis treatment options: pills, injections, or lifestyle changes — how do I choose what’s right for me?

Aging General Health Treatments

Daphne Berryhill, RPh

Managing osteoporosis begins with lifestyle approaches. Medication can further lower the chance of a bone break from osteoporosis. Your clinician can help you decide which treatment is right for you. When my mom was first diagnosed with osteoporosis, she was both surprised and upset. The idea of thinning bones is an unsettling thought. It’s especially Read more…

June 5, 2025

Should I take an iron supplement?

General Health Treatments Videos

Daphne Berryhill, RPh

💊Should I take an iron supplement? It very much depends. For example, people who menstruate or have vegetarian diets are more likely to benefit from extra iron. The best way to know if you need more iron is by having an iron blood test and talking to your clinician. You may benefit from taking an Read more…

May 23, 2025

What exactly are Ethics, and how important are they in human medical research?

Treatments Vaccines

Sandy Laping

Ethics are a set of principles that help us figure out what’s right and wrong. In medical research, they help to keep the people taking part safe, make sure the research does more good than harm, and ensure the results can be trusted. Bottom line up front – Medical research is strictly regulated, and ethical Read more…

May 16, 2025

How do we know clinical trials actually work?

General Health Treatments Vaccines

Elisabeth Adkins Marnik, PhD

Clinical trials are done to ensure that medications and vaccines work and that their benefits outweigh the risks. We know these trials work because we can find examples where trials were paused or stopped due to concerns with safety and efficacy. Clinical trials are done to ensure that medications or vaccines work (officially called efficacy) Read more…

November 20, 2024

Why can’t I get antibiotics for a cough?

Infectious Diseases Treatments

Andrea Harmony, NP-C, PMHS

Taking an antibiotic when it’s not needed contributes to antimicrobial resistance and can put you and others at risk of more severe infections. TLDR: Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, fungi, parasites or viruses mutate in ways that make common treatments ineffective. More and more antibiotics are losing their effectiveness due to antimicrobial resistance, so it Read more…

August 13, 2024

Does metformin treat COVID-19 and help prevent long COVID?

Infectious Diseases Long COVID Treatments

Elisabeth Adkins Marnik, PhD

Some data suggest that metformin may help treat infection and reduce long COVID risk. But so far these data are not conclusive and we need further studies before metformin would be recommended for treating COVID. Metformin is an FDA approved drug with a good safety history. It is most often used to help lower blood sugar in Read more…

June 4, 2024

Does Paxlovid reduce the risk of long COVID?

Infectious Diseases Long COVID Treatments

Elisabeth Adkins Marnik, PhD

Unfortunately, data is mixed on the usefulness of Paxlovid for the prevention of long COVID. We need more data, including clinical trials that are carefully designed, to evaluate whether or not there is a benefit. Long COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19, refers to lingering symptoms that emerge in some individuals following a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Read more…

March 21, 2024

Avoiding Potential Drug Interactions with Paxlovid

Treatments

Ashley Ritter, APRN, PhD

Like any medication, antivirals like Paxlovid have the potential to interact with other drugs. One option to avoid potential drug interactions includes a temporary pause of certain medications during treatment with Paxlovid. For example, medications called statins that treat high cholesterol can often be held for 5 to 10 days to allow for treatment of Read more…

March 8, 2024

Who is still dying of COVID?

Infectious Diseases Treatments Vaccines

Jennifer Beam Dowd, PhD

Nerdy Girl Dr. Jenn Dowd answers your COVID question. ➡️ A lot of people who could be benefiting from vaccines and treatment but are not. The good news is that COVID mortality is much lower than it has been in previous winters. The bad news is that this winter, close to 2000 Americans per week Read more…

January 29, 2024

“Rebound” is a COVID thing, not a Paxlovid thing.

Infectious Diseases Treatments

Jennifer Beam Dowd, PhD

For some people, COVID-19 symptoms can come back in the week or so after they initially recover. This is referred to as “COVID rebound,” which is just as likely to happen whether you take antiviral treatments or not. The CDC’s latest findings show rebound can happen regardless of whether someone has taken Paxlovid. The good Read more…

December 14, 2023

You can now “test to treat” at home in the US!!

Infectious Diseases Testing and Contact Tracing Treatments

Andrea Harmony, NP-C, PMHS

TLDR: Home Test To Treat is a new program that provides telehealth and antiviral home delivery for people testing positive for Flu or Covid-19. The U.S. The Test To Treat Program aimed to make it quicker and easier for people at risk for severe Covid-19 to get the antivirals they need. Not only were pharmacists Read more…

September 6, 2023

Does nitric oxide nasal spray (Enovid/VirX/FabiSpray) help prevent or treat COVID-19?

Infectious Diseases Treatments

Chana Davis, PhD

Dr. Chana Davis, PhD answers your question “Does nitric oxide nasal spray (Enovid/VirX/FabiSpray) help prevent or treat COVID-19?” This latest Nerdy Girl live was hosted on 8/24/2023 by: 🔸Andrea Harmony, NP-C, PMHS: TNG Contributing Writer & Family Nurse Practitioner 🔸Chana Davis, PhD: TNG Contributing Writer & Founder of Fueled by Science You can find the Read more…

August 24, 2023

Nerdy Girls Live 08/24/23

COVID Variants Infectious Diseases Treatments Vaccines Videos

Chana Davis, PhD and Andrea Harmony, NP-C, PMHS

Those Nerdy Girls answer your questions about COVID-19 and flu, including boosters, risk, new variant, and nasal sprays. Hosted by: – Andrea Harmony, NP-C, PMHS: TNG Contributing Writer & Family Nurse Practitioner – Chana Davis, PhD: TNG Contributing Writer & Founder of Fueled by Science ➡️ Welcome and Intros (0:00-0:46) ➡️ Is COVID-19 the new Read more…

August 21, 2023

Does nitric oxide nasal spray (Enovid/VirX/FabiSpray) help prevent or treat COVID-19?

Treatments

Chana Davis, PhD

The Enovid/VirX/FabiSpray nitric oxide nasal spray (NONS) looks promising, but we need more data to fully understand both safety and effectiveness. One thing is clear – this spray won’t make you bulletproof. It should be seen as a layer of protection, not a replacement for other precautions or treatments. This spray is available in several Read more…

August 7, 2023

Paxlovid is an underused weapon against COVID. Make a plan now!

Infectious Diseases Treatments

Jennifer Beam Dowd, PhD

Covid cases are on the rise in many countries. If you are over 50 or have another risk factor, MAKE A PLAN today for when you test positive for COVID-19. TL;DR: 💥 Paxlovid is an oral antiviral pill that stops the virus that causes COVID-19 from making copies of itself in your body. 💥 Don’t Read more…

April 3, 2023

What’s one of the most underused but effective tools we have against COVID-19?

Treatments

Jennifer Beam Dowd, PhD

Paxlovid! If you are over 50 or have another risk factor, MAKE A PLAN today for when you test positive for COVID-19. TL;DR: Paxlovid is an oral antiviral pill that stops the virus that causes COVID-19 from making copies of itself in your body. Don’t be afraid of “rebound.” Rebound of COVID symptoms can happen Read more…

February 23, 2023

Bad news! Evusheld is no longer recommended to prevent COVID-19.

Treatments

Sarah Whitley Coles, MD

Previously, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized a combo of monoclonal antibodies, tixagevimab plus cilgavimab (aka Evusheld), as a medication to prevent COVID-19 for people who could not get a vaccine for medical reasons or have weakened immune systems. The goal of Evusheld was to prevent (not treat!) COVID-19 by giving extra lab-made Read more…

Nerdy Merch

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