Temperature and Humidity Modulation
Temperature and Humidity Modulation
Local Temperature and Humidity Modulation to treat Respiratory Virus Diseases including Covid
[in work, only summary somewhat complete]
Summary
Numerous traditional remedies such as steam inhalation and drinking tea or customs such as sauna make use of local warming to prevent and treat respiratory infections. There are quite a few proposals to use heat for prevention and treatment for Covid-19. These proposals provide many pieces of evidence that local warming methods work.
Currently the focus is on local warming. Notes about local cooling in work.
We sketch epidemiological evidence (A), discuss enabling mechanisms (B). In (C) resources with similar recommendations are given.
A Summarized Epidemiological Evidence
Evidence regarding Covid-19
- Regions where sauna is common, need fewer restrictions to control the Covid-19 spread than regions without. Namely Finland and Estonia are from a geographical perspective more exposed than most European countries for many severe Covid cases, but so fare, mild restrictions were enough to keep Covid deaths low.
- In countries where air-conditioners are widespread, the average R value usually increases when the temperatures are above the comfort level. However at very high air temperatures above 40 degrees, which measured in the Middle East in summer 2020, the average R values stop increasing and mostly even decreased.
Evidence regarding Respiratory Infections
- A long term cohort study in Finland finds that frequent sauna bathing reduces the risk of pneumonia.
- Experiences and trials show that inhaling hot air is beneficial to prevent and treat respiratory infections.
Evidence regarding General Infections
- Increasing the temperature upon infections is observed in many animals. Some insects, most reptiles and nearly all (all?) mammals. It comes at the cost of greatly increased energy burning for warm-blooded animals or at the cost of risky behavior such as sunbathing for reptiles, so there must be benefits else such behavior wouldn’t have evolved and survived independently.
B Summarized Mechanisms of Action
Heat influences the viruses as virions (a) and in the metabolic state (b). Heat also enhances (c) and stimulates (d) the immune system.
Inhibit Viruses
- a) Reduced survival of virions Virions decay quickly compared to other forms of life, especially at high temperatures. The principal reason is that virions rely on spring loaded energy in their proteins e.g. to induce cell fusion. Therefore the proteins are under tension this makes them delicate and once broken they won’t go back to the original state. It the same as a spring once released won’t go back to the tensioned state.
- b) Disrupted metabolism of viruses Most viruses and all RNA viruses have a small genome encoding just a limited metabolisms. Cells on the other hand have a large genome and encode many fall back options upon suboptimal circumstances such as increased temperature.
Improved Host Immune System
- c) Enhancing the functionality of host immune mechanisms Many mechanisms of the immune system work better at slightly increased temperatures. Examples are: Presentation of antigens, faster recruitment of adequate immune cells, better intracellular immune mechanisms.
- d) Stimulating the host immune system Increasing temperature upon infection dates back to the early time of multicellular life, the immune cells learned this and increase their activity upon temperature increase. The other way round too: Cooling signals the immune cells stay calm.
C Recommended Readings
Epidemiological Evidence
[in work]
Mechanisms of Action
Inhibiting Viruses
[in work] Respiratory viruses have a two phase life-cycle. A virion phase and a metabolic phase. In both phases environment changes can inhibit the viruses.
In the following betacoronaviruses are considered but the argumentation holds for many respiratory viruses.
Virion Phase
In the virion phase coronaviruses are very delicate due to the spring loaded energy in their spike and nucleocapsid proteins. Varios environment changes including temperatures above 45 degrees induce structure loss in the spring loaded proteins (Virion Viability Page).
Enhancing the Immune Response
[in work]
Metabolic Phase
[in work]
Treatment Methods relying on Temperature Modulation
[in work]
Sauna
[in work]
Steam Inhalation
[in work]
References
References Heat
Ramirez
Ramirez, F. E., Sanchez, A., & Pirskanen, A. T. (2021). Hydrothermotherapy in prevention and treatment of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. Medical hypotheses, 146, 110363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110363
Cohen
Cohen M. Turning up the heat on COVID-19: heat as a therapeutic intervention [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] F1000Research 2020, 9:292 https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.23299.2
Khaltaev
Balneotherapy and hydrotherapy in chronic respiratory disease
References Sauna
Kunutsor 2020
Kunutsor, S. K., & Laukkanen, J. A. (2021). High fitness levels, frequent sauna bathing and risk of pneumonia in a cohort study: Are there potential implications for COVID-19? European journal of clinical investigation, 51(3), e13490. https://doi.org/10.1111/eci.13490
Kunutsor 2017
Kunutsor, S. K., Laukkanen, T., & Laukkanen, J. A. (2017). Frequent sauna bathing may reduce the risk of pneumonia in middle-aged Caucasian men: The KIHD prospective cohort study. Respiratory medicine, 132, 161–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2017.10.018
Laukkanen 2016
Sauna bathing is inversely associated with dementia and Azheimer’s deisease in middle-aged Finnish men
Laukkanen 2019
Finnish sauna bathing does not increase or decrease the risk of cancer in men: A prospective cohort study
Zinchuk
Sauna effect on blood oxygen transport and prooxidant-antioxidant balance in athletes
Pach
Visiting a sauna: does inhaling hot dry air reduce common cold symptoms? A randomised controlled trial
Podstawski
Correlations between Repeated Use of Dry Sauna for 4 x 10 Minutes, Physiological Parameters, Anthropometric Features, and Body Composition in Young Sedentary and Overweight Men: Health Implications
Hussain
Clinical Effects of Regular Dry Sauna Bathing: A Systematic Review