dexamethasone

After the excitement of hydroxychloroquine there were a few drugs that were discovered to be effective in the treatment of the coronavirus. Dexamethasone was one of these.

 It is a drug that treats inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and is used to deal with respiratory problems amongst other things. It is given to children with croup and can bring their breathing back to normal very quickly. In June 2020 it was hailed as the world’s first coronavirus treatment, one which could reduce the number of deaths resulting from the dangerous response of the patient’s immune system resulting in a cytokine storm (see second week crash).  Unfortunately our immune system sometimes gets its response wrong and starts attacking parts of the body that would be better left alone. This drug helps to bring the overenthusiastic immune response under control.