This is How Sex Boosts The Fight Against COVID-19

I am utterly convinced that to defeat COVID-19, we have to find alternative ways for our immune system to engage the enemy with paramount accuracy, avoiding as far as possible collateral damage to the host.

Humanity has long ago looked at sex as a way to improve our general health. Traditional sex guides, like the Kama Sutra, looked at sexual health as a state of overall well-being. 

The ancient power of sexuality

Ancient pagan civilizations had an open-minded approach to sexuality without the controversy of sin and taboo brought forward during the Middle-Ages. The pagan mythology was an overwhelming universe of lust, desire, and sexual prowess. 

Thus, sexuality was lived to the fullest and celebrated publicly as the ancient Greeks did during the Dionysia festivals, and Romans adapted for their Bacchanalia.

Nevertheless, only latterly, we unveiled hormones' secret power in boosting our sex drive and how this ou endocrine system plays a decisive role in preventing disease by modulating our immunity.

The rise of the SEX hormone

Today I came across an article from the American Physiological Society's Physiological focusing on Oxytocin's anti-inflammatory and proimmune functions in COVID-19. The following chapters recall those findings.

Oxytocin - "the SEX hormone."

Oxytocin is a hormone produced by the hypothalamus and secreted by the pituitary gland. This important hormone plays a crucial role in the childbirth process and helps with reproduction, playing its part in your libido and sexual performance.

Oxytocin (OXT) is commonly known as the "love hormone" because it is released when people develop affectionate behavior towards each other. This is why levels of oxytocin are elevated when we start a new relationship or during sexual activity.

Endocrinologists already knew about the anti-inflammatory and proimmune adaptive functions of OXT. Researchers performed a study to investigate if the hormone could prevent "cytokine storms" in the disease's early stages during this new investigation. Thus, this new investigation proposes intravenous oxytocin (OXT) as a candidate for adjunctive therapy for COVID-19.

How OXT boosts immunity

Oxytocin also has anti-inflammatory properties, which promote an immune response. Previous research suggests the hormone protects against toxic injury and reduces levels of inflammatory substances in the lungs. Studies have also shown that cultured human cells with reduced expression of oxytocin receptors have higher levels of inflammatory proteins and oxidative stress.

Researchers analyzed the characteristics of genes that have been treated with drugs closely related to oxytocin. They found how one drug, carbetocin, may promote the activation of immune response T cells and reduce the expression of the inflammatory markers that trigger cytokine storm in people with COVID-19.

Carbetocin's also showed similarities with the antiretroviral lopinavir already used in treatment for COVID-19.

Thus, the authors have noted oxytocin's potential as a co-adjuvant treatment for coronavirus-related cytokine storms. Scientists note how "safety and efficacy of intravenous oxytocin in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 remain to be assessed."

Nevertheless, winter is coming, and we have to make every bullet count during COVID-19 long night.

Hence, while we wait for a new drug, there is nothing better than to indulge ourselves in more sex and make the most of the lockdowns imposed by authorities. 

Unmask inside the bedroom

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed social distancing, and probably many couples are currently suffering from stress and anxiety. This can lead to a decrease in libido, and the marital bed is paying the price, as we have reports of an increase in divorce.

Please keep strict social distancing to prevent infection; however, do this when you are outside socializing with others. Masks in the bedroom should be only for fetish purposes and not because you have to keep respiratory etiquette with your partner.

The more oxytocin, the better, so please keep making love against COVID-19!

Love heals all wounds and not just time alone. - Jeff Buckley