“ Patients tell us they wish more than anything that they could bring and do the most basic activities they used to before they got pale with foresighted COVID , ” said like generator and   University of California , Irvine associate prof of nursing , Melissa Pinto , in astatement . “ They are desperately seek for something to assist them get back on their feet . ”

That search led Pinto and colleagues to the cases of two cleaning woman , item of which they describe in a paper published inThe Journal for Nurse Practitioners . Both adult female were otherwise tidy and ended up take the antihistamine Benadryl , sometimes stigmatize as Benadryl or Nytol , as something of a happy accident .

In the first type , the woman had trigger off an be lactose intolerance by eating cheese so took the antihistamine to contend the subsequent symptom . The second had run out of her common allergy medication so switched .

In both case , the cleaning woman found day-by-day doses of the antihistamine led to importantly amend caliber of liveliness . Theircognition , exercise leeway , and pain severity   – all of which had worsened after SARS - CoV-2 infection   – were improved and rashes and lesions colligate with foresighted COVID ( which has around203 possible symptoms ) went away .

Each woman reports they ’ve regained 90 and 95 percent of their pre - illness function under the diphenhydramine antihistamine regime . Their hopeful outcome potentially attest that this pronto available medicament could have a big impact on those who experience they have lost much of their quality of life to long COVID .

“ Currently , there is no remedy for [ long COVID ] , only symptom direction , ” say Pinto . “ A number of selection are being prove , with antihistamines being one of them . ”

While the women represent a small sample size of it , with similar characteristics including age , sexual urge , and ethnicity , Pinto maintains that the promise of an afforable medicament ease long COVID symptoms is deserving further investigation .

“ The possibility that an easy - to - access , over - the - counter medicament could ease some of the [ tenacious COVID ] symptom should tender Bob Hope to the estimated 54 million mass worldwide who have been in hurt for calendar month or even eld , ” she bear on . " The next pace for this research into antihistamine discourse are to lead broad - based trials for value efficaciousness and to develop dosage docket for clinical drill guidelines . ”

[ H / T : Science Alert ]