{"id":114819,"date":"2025-09-04T20:50:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T20:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/114819\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T20:50:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T20:50:09","slug":"azelastine-nasal-spray-cuts-coronavirus-infection-risk-study-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/114819\/","title":{"rendered":"Azelastine nasal spray cuts coronavirus infection risk, study shows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

A new study has discovered another way to potentially prevent COVID-19.<\/a><\/p>\n

Researchers at Saarland University in Germany headed a clinical trial that found a nasal spray could reduce the risk of coronavirus infection by two-thirds.<\/p>\n

The phase 2 study<\/a>, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, ran from March 2023 to July 2024 at Saarland University Hospital.<\/p>\n

NEW COVID VARIANT MAY CAUSE ‘RAZOR BLADE THROAT’ \u2014 HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW<\/a><\/p>\n

The 450 healthy adult participants were randomly assigned to receive either the azelastine nasal spray or a placebo, three times per day for 56 days.<\/p>\n

The researchers conducted SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing twice a week to diagnose infection. People who had symptoms but received negative antigen test results underwent multiple PCR tests for respiratory viruses.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Woman <\/p>\n

Azelastine nasal spray could potentially delay COVID-19 infection, according to new research. (iStock)<\/p>\n

Among the 227 individuals who received the azelastine nasal spray, rates of confirmed COVID infection were “significantly lower” at 2.2%, compared with 6.7% for the placebo group.<\/p>\n

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The researchers also noted an increase in the period before infection for the people taking azelastine. In these patients, the medication was linked to a lower rate of PCR-confirmed symptomatic infections and fewer confirmed rhinovirus infections (the primary cause of the common cold<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"woman <\/p>\n

Azelastine nasal spray may also help prevent other respiratory viruses, the researchers found. (iStock)<\/p>\n

“In this single-center trial, azelastine nasal spray<\/a> was associated with reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infections,” the researchers wrote.<\/p>\n

Azelastine has been available as an over-the-counter treatment for hay fever, according to a press release from Saarland University, and has previously been suggested to have an anti-viral effect against COVID and other respiratory viruses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

Lead trial researcher Professor Robert Bals, director of the Department of Internal Medicine at Saarland University Medical Center, commented in a statement that the trial has demonstrated azelastine\u2019s impact in a “real-world setting.”<\/p>\n

\"Doctor <\/p>\n

Azelastine led to a reduction in the number of PCR-confirmed symptomatic infections, according to the study. (iStock)<\/p>\n

“Azelastine nasal spray could provide an additional, easily accessible prophylactic to complement existing protective measures, especially for vulnerable groups, during periods of high infection rates<\/a> or before traveling,” he went on.<\/p>\n

For more Health articles, visit\u00a0<\/a>www.foxnews.com\/health<\/a><\/p>\n

“Our results highlight the need for larger, multicenter trials to continue exploring the use of azelastine nasal sprays as an on-demand preventive treatment, and to examine its potential effectiveness against other respiratory pathogens.”<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.<\/p>\n

Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A new study has discovered another way to potentially prevent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114820,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[55224,2211,102,655,5898,6591,13886,55222,55223,56,54,55,182],"class_list":{"0":"post-114819","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-cold-and-flu","9":"tag-coronavirus","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-lifestyle","12":"tag-medical-research","13":"tag-medication","14":"tag-medications","15":"tag-respiratory-health","16":"tag-sinuses-ent","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-unitedkingdom","20":"tag-viruses"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114819\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}