Cover News Reporter Zhang Yidan Qiu Tian
Recently, there are rumors on the Internet that the XBB.1.5 mutant strain is prone to cause diarrhea. Netizens are advised to prepare montmorillonite powder, rehydration salts, norfloxacin and other drugs, triggering a rush to buy antidiarrheal drugs.
html On January 2, a cover news reporter visited a number of pharmacies in Chengdu and found that many citizens were also inquiring about buying montmorillonite powder, but most pharmacies were out of stock, and only one pharmacy had it.In this regard, many experts said that the XBB strain has enhanced transmissibility and immune evasion ability, but its pathogenicity is not significantly different from other series of mutant strains of Omicron . It has not been found that XBB.1.5 is more likely to invade the digestive system .
Yang Mei, the attending physician at the Gastroenterology Department of Chengdu Third People's Hospital, told the cover news reporter that some COVID-19 patients will develop viral diarrhea, which is a self-limiting disease that can resolve on its own. If diarrhea is severe, montmorillonite powder can relieve symptoms, but it is recommended to use oral salt replenishment solution first. "You can prepare a box (montmorillonite powder), but there is no need to stock up."
On January 2, many pharmacies in Chengdu were out of stock of montmorillonite powder.
Montmorillonite powder is out of stock
Many pharmacies in Chengdu are temporarily out of stock
html On January 2, cover news reporters visited more than 10 pharmacies in Chengdu. Most of the pharmacies found that montmorillonite powder was out of stock, and only one pharmacy had it. The store sells 9 bags of Hongjitang montmorillonite in bulk for 19.8 yuan per box. The staff said that this product arrived not long ago and there is not much left.A citizen who was buying medicine told a cover news reporter that she went out to buy medicine because she was worried that the new coronavirus variant might cause diarrhea. A staff member of another chain drugstore said that there have been many consumers buying montmorillonite powder in the past day or two. The store usually has dozens of boxes in stock, but all of them were sold out yesterday. Most other stores also have no stock. They have applied for replenishment and "it is estimated that it will arrive tomorrow."
Staff at many pharmacies said that in addition to montmorillonite powder, rehydration salts, berberine, norfloxacin and other drugs are also out of stock. Only one store still sells rehydration salts. Store staff said that the boxed oral rehydration salt powder in the store can currently be sold in bulk. In order to prevent people in urgent need from being unable to buy the medicine, bulk purchases are not accepted.
On the e-commerce platform, montmorillonite powder is also close to being out of stock. On the afternoon of January 2, Alibaba Health Pharmacy customer service stated that both montmorillonite powder and rehydration salts were temporarily out of stock. In Jingdong Health , all the montmorillonite powders among the drugs shipped in the same city have been sold out. All kinds of montmorillonite powders and rehydration salts in Jingdong pharmacies are also out of stock, and some third-party stores still have related drugs for sale.
Many e-commerce platforms also show that montmorillonite is out of stock.
XBB is a mutant branch of Omicron, which has further evolved into XBB.1 and XBB.1.5. XBB.1.5 has recently become the dominant strain in some countries. According to Global Times , data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on December 30, 2022 (Friday), Eastern Time, showed that it estimated that 40.5% of new coronavirus infection cases in the United States that week were caused by the highly contagious Omicron subtype XBB.1.5 strain.
On December 20, 2022, at a press conference held by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council, Xu Wenbo, director of the Institute of Virology of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, introduced that BQ.1 and XBB are new mutant branches of Omicron, which are mainly characterized by increased transmissibility and immune evasion capabilities. They have been introduced into my country, but have not yet formed dominant transmission.
Xu Wenbo also said that their pathogenicity is not significantly different from other series of Omicron variants, and the severity and mortality rates have not increased significantly in countries where BQ.1 and XBB are prevalent.
On January 2, Yuan Zhengan, a member of the expert group of the Shanghai Epidemic Prevention and Control Leading Group, also stated at the press conference that the Omicron BQ.1 and XBB strains currently discovered in Shanghai have only been detected in a very small number of incoming quarantine personnel and have not yet caused local spread in society.
According to the People's Daily Health Client, Li Tong, chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Infectious Diseases at Beijing You'an Hospital, said that some people infected with the new coronavirus do have symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, but they usually resolve on their own in 1 to 3 days. XBB.1.5 has not been found to be more likely to invade the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems and digestive systems. Drugs for treating respiratory tract infections and digestive tract infections can be prepared appropriately, but there is no need to hoard them in large quantities.
According to The Paper , Wang Xinyu, deputy director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the National Research Center for Infectious Diseases and Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, said that at present, the symptoms caused by the XBB strain are not particularly severe than other variants. If you have been infected with Omicron mutant strains such as BA.5.2 or BF.7, the chance of being infected with XBB again in the short term is very low.
In response to the viral rumors from netizens that XBB strains attack the intestines and brain, Wang Xinyu said that XBB still mainly invades the respiratory tract, and it is not true that "XBB mainly attacks the intestines". As for "brain fog", it is just a "joking name" for people who feel that they tend to forget things or have low work efficiency after being infected with the new coronavirus. It is generally not treated as a sequelae of the new coronavirus.
Anti-infective drugs such as berberine and norfloxacin have also been snapped up, and they mainly target bacterial infections.
Doctors say:
There is no need to stock up on montmorillonite powder in large quantities
Yang Mei, an attending physician at the Department of Gastroenterology at Chengdu Third People's Hospital, told the cover news reporter that montmorillonite powder is not an antidiarrheal drug in the strict sense, but a "ht "ml2 adsorbent ", its raw material montmorillonite has strong adsorption, and has a certain fixation and inhibitory effect on viruses and bacteria and the toxins they produce in the digestive tract, making them lose their pathogenic effect. "Montmorillonite can relieve symptoms of viral diarrhea and reduce the frequency of defecation."
Yangmei also said that montmorillonite contains lead and is not recommended for use by children under two years old. Taking it may cause constipation. People with usual constipation need to use it under the guidance of a doctor.
"After diarrhea occurs, it is recommended to give priority to oral salt replenishment liquid, which is safer." Yang Mei said that after a large number of defecation, diarrhea patients may suffer from water shortage and electrolyte imbalance. They can drink oral salt replenishment liquid such as electrolyte powder to maintain the balance between sodium, water and other electrolytes in the body.
"Viral diarrhea is a self-limiting disease. During the diarrhea process, you need to be alert to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance caused by the diarrhea process, especially in children. Therefore, oral salt replenishment is needed to maintain water and electrolyte balance."
Yang Mei also said that once bacterial infection occurs and bacterial diarrhea occurs, norfloxacin, salt Anti-infective drugs such as berberine tablets are recommended to be used under the guidance of a physician. "If you have fever, bloody mucus in the stool, obvious abdominal pain, reduced urine output, low blood pressure, or no significant improvement in the frequency of diarrhea, you need to go to the hospital for further examination and treatment."
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