By Madora Pennington, PNN Columnist

Viral infections like COVID-19 are difficult to treat. Unless and until a targeted anti-viral drug or vaccine is developed, symptomatic support is what is given to patients to ease suffering and prolong life -- until their own body hopefully defeats the coronavirus.

While most coronavirus infections are mild or even lack symptoms, to vulnerable patients they can be devastating. The virus can infect various organs, including the brain, lungs and nervous system, which leads to a cascading response of damaging inflammation. Patients can die from respiratory failure or septic shock, ironically caused by an over-reaction of their own immune system battling the virus.

One adjunctive therapy that emerged from the desperation to save patients in Wuhan, China is intravenous ascorbic acid. Yes, that is Vitamin C. A placebo-controlled study has begun in Wuhan to determine if Vitamin C infusions are helpful in treating 140 patients with coronavirus pneumonia. A similar clinical study is underway in Italy.

Doctors in New York are currently administering Vitamin C intravenously to coronavirus patients in large doses that are well above the recommended daily dose.

"I have to hope that this, or any new idea, may help," Peter McCaffery, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Aberdeen in the UK, told Newsweek.  

"Just to reiterate though, taking large doses of Vitamin C tablets would be very unlikely to protect you from COVID-19 -- unless you were actually Vitamin C deficient, which with a normal diet is quite rare."

McCaffery says Vitamin C is relatively safe because, unlike many other vitamins, it does not build up to toxic levels. The worst side-effect is a potential kidney stone. Large amounts of C taken orally can also upset the stomach.

Previous studies have found that Vitamin C can help prevent death from the deadly complication of sepsis. Scientists believe Vitamin C stops the surge of immune cells that lead to lung destruction and helps reduce fluid buildup in the lungs. Vitamin C helps modulate the immune system, meaning it helps the immune system function properly, not over-reacting and not under-reacting. It also has antiviral properties.

Important for Overall Health

Vitamin C is critical for the maintenance of body functions and normal physiology. It helps the body maintain homeostasis -- the constant adjustments the body makes to keep conditions stable. For example, when a person eats and experiences a rise in glucose, insulin is produced to bring sugar levels down to normal. A breakdown in the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis is what leads to diabetes.

Vitamin C is essential for the formation of collagen, which is everywhere in the human body, gluing everything together. It is necessary for wound healing.

Vitamin C also supports the development of neurons and plays a role in learning and memory. Studies have shown that people with higher concentrations of Vitamin C are more cognitively intact compared to cognitively impaired individuals.

Some studies have shown Vitamin C can shorten the length of a cold, prevent it entirely under certain circumstances, and also reduce flu symptoms. But more research is needed in this area because findings have been mixed. Scientists suspect inconsistent results may be due to the variability of an individual’s ability to absorb Vitamin C and handle oxidative stress.

Some people need more Vitamin C than others to achieve healthy levels of ascorbic acid. Oxidative processes are especially altered in patients with obesity, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, hypertension and autoimmune diseases. Lower concentrations of Vitamin C are also found in patients with metabolic syndrome.

Nearly all mammals manufacture their own Vitamin C when they are ill or injured. But chimpanzees and humans have a broken copy of the C manufacturing gene. We must obtain ours from food.

During the Age of Sail, a disease of profound Vitamin C deficiency — scurvy — killed an estimated 2 million sailors. At the time, no one knew Vitamin C was such a vital nutrient. Ships set sail on long voyages without enough food that contained it.

Scurvy was a terrible disease and a terrible way to die. Initially overcome with severe fatigue and weakness, sailors became unable to think or work. This created suspicion that laziness itself caused this mysterious disease.

As the body became more and more depleted of Vitamin C, healed fractures re-broke. Old wounds reopened and bled. Bruises formed at the slightest touch. Gums bled and teeth fell out. Joints ached. Flesh turned black and gangrenous. Fatal aortic ruptures or brain bleeding came on suddenly. Scurvy this severe is rarely seen in the modern world.

My interest in Vitamin C is very personal. I have an inherited collagen disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a poorly understood disease. Vitamin C loading is recommended for my condition, as many of my symptoms are similar to scurvy.

My doctor and I discovered I benefit exponentially from injecting Vitamin C, rather than taking it orally. Why is a mystery. For those interested in oral supplementation, liposomal C is the best choice.

Madora Pennington writes about Ehlers-Danlos and life after disability at LessFlexible.com. Her work has also been featured in the Los Angeles Times.