There have been several treatments not prescribed by doctors that have been touted as being beneficial for COVID-19 symptoms, but some have been harmful.* It’s important to follow your doctor’s treatment plan for symptom relief.

Doctors may recommend methods to help you effectively fight off the virus and reduce symptom severity, such as the following:

• Taking pain relievers, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, to reduce fever
• Drinking water or receiving intravenous fluids to stay hydrated
• Resting to help the body fight the virus

Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an antiviral drug, remdesivir (Veklury®), to treat COVID-19 in adults and children 12 and older. The FDA is also allowing physicians to prescribe medications not yet approved or approved for other uses via emergency issue authorizations in some cases.

For patients who are at high risk of disease progression, doctors may recommend they try investigational therapies, such as investigational monoclonal antibodies that play a role in attaching to parts of the virus to help the immune system better fight the virus.

Hospital Treatments

If a patient is to receive treatment for COVID-19 progression at the hospital, several treatment methods may be used:

• Antiviral medications may be prescribed to reduce the ability of the virus to multiply and spread through the body.
• Treatments to reduce an overactive immune response may also be prescribed in patients whose immune systems are overreacting to the virus, which could worsen the disease.
• Since COVID-19 can damage the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes and gastrointestinal organs, additional treatments might be used for severely ill hospitalized patients, such as blood thinners to prevent or treat blood clots.
• Anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody combinations may be recommended to treat outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are considered high risk.
• Patients experiencing progressive respiratory decompensation may be prescribed tocilizumab (single intravenous [IV] dose) in combination with dexamethasone for up to 10 days.

Treatments that still need more evidence before being recommended by NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines include:

• Plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19, known as convalescent plasma, can contain antibodies to the virus. More research is needed to confirm if plasma helps the body better respond to the virus.
• Colchicine and fluvoxamine, which both have an anti-inflammatory effect, do not have sufficient evidence to confirm their effectiveness in COVID-19.

Additional information on this topic can be found in the article “What’s New in the Guidelines” in the National Institutes of Health website.

*COVID-19 and Your Health. (2021, March 23). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/treatments-for-severe-illness.html

Much about the novel coronavirus, i.e., COVID-19, is still not fully understood. As research progresses and our knowledge of the virus increases, information can change rapidly. We strive to update all of our articles as quickly as possible, but there may occasionally be some lag between scientific developments and our revisions.