Can cannabinoids help to protect you against the coronavirus?
Now that we are facing a virus with no real treatment or vaccine available, people are desperate for hope, which often leads unsuspecting folks into places that don’t offer reliable information. It can be hard to process such a significant change to daily life, and it only makes sense that people would want an answer that could return everything back to normal, but there is a myth going around that need some clarification, and it's that cannabis can cure or somehow prevent the coronavirus.
Unfortunately, the truth is pretty murky and highly misrepresented because while phytocannabinoids, cannabinoids, and terpenes can certainly have a positive impact on a person's immune system, there is absolutely no proof to show that cannabis alone could work as either a treatment or a preventative for CODIV-19. However, that doesn’t mean that it can’t help you to cope with some of the symptoms that go along with a milder version of symptoms caused by the illness.
Symptom relief
The wide range of symptoms that can come with this disease is a large part of what makes it so difficult to diagnose without testing, but there is a standard set of symptoms that are used to screen COVID-19 patients, and toking a little bit here and there or enjoying the occasional edibles can help with most of them.
1. Nausea
This flu-like symptom is never fun, and it can make it really hard to want to get out of bed, but with a bit of assistance from the cannabinoid THC, you can keep nausea in check, and relax as much as possible while you recover.
2. Body aches and pains
When you’re sick, one of the first things you are likely to notice is body pains. They can be caused by consistent coughing, or just from being generally unwell, and they can make it impossible to feel comfortable or move about as needed. Cannabis can help with this too by reducing inflammation, and decreasing your sensitivity to the irritating sensation, which should help to get you up and moving in no time.
3. Fever
Fever probably won’t be lowered through cannabis alone but getting high and sleeping away the day is an excellent way to pass the time while you wait for your temperature to go down enough that you can function normally again.
4. Lack of appetite
When you’re not hungry, you will not want to consume the much-needed vitamins and minerals that your body will need to fight off the virus, which can be seriously detrimental to your recovery time. Luckily, cannabis can help to counteract this symptom by increasing appetite, which should help to increase essential nutrient intake.
5. Coughing
Most cannabis users might laugh at the idea of any cannabinoid in the plant assisting with coughing, but since it acts as an anti-inflammatory, it can help to reduce the frequency of coughing and the pain and soreness that you feel after several hours of not being able to stop.
An immune system booster
Phytocannabinoids, cannabinoids, and terpenes can help by boosting your immune system, and this occurs thanks to the millions of cannabinoid receptors we all have throughout our bodies. When the cannabinoids interact with these receptors, they send signals to the brain that can help to regulate the release of hormones and chemicals that are released into the body. This effect offers a quick immune system booster, but it is not enough to claim that it can work as a protection against the current virus at hand.
