• Michelle Samuels

    Communications Senior Writer and Editor Twitter Profile

    Michelle Samuels (GRS’16) is communications senior writer and editor at the School of Public Health.  Profile

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There are 7 comments on For COVID-19 Patients, Could Breathing Easier Be as Simple as Flipping Over?

  1. Wonderful research, but please do not present it as “Pioneering research from BU University”. Nowhere in this article it is mentioned that other hospitals/doctors/researchers have been using this technique in COVID patients. Placing COVID patients on their back has been researched and implemented in Italy, Germany, New York, Chicago and Miami, just to name a few (and I am not mentioning a French study of 7 years ago). I am attaching two articles which describe this practice. This is a global pandemic involving all countries; hopefully researchers will join forces and coordinate their effort.

    “Doctors are finding that placing the sickest coronavirus patients on their stomachs – called prone positioning – helps increase the amount of oxygen that’s getting to their lungs.” “Ever since, to varying degrees, doctors in the United States have been placing ventilated ARDS patients on their stomachs”. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/health/coronavirus-prone-positioning/index.html (April 14, 2020).

    “…a March 30 letter to the editor in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. The letter, which had been circulating in online emergency medicine communities and was written by an Italian anesthesiologist named Luciano Gattinoni, relayed findings from researchers in Germany and Italy…”
    https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article242012816.html#storylink=cpy (April 15, 2020).

  2. I sat upright with infection. I found out my thyroid was enlarged – diffuse goiter – not apparent from the front. It pressed against my tongue and when I was on my back, it caused sleep apnea (pressure on C7). I started therapy for chronic iodine deficiency (all thyroid tests normal). It reduced swelling of thyroid and cured sleep apnea. The virus had attacked my thyroid which made the problem more apparent. Could be alot of people die in their sleep from this viral complication. With me, I had a massive inflammatory response and that produced oxidative damage in lower part of both legs due to lymphatic congestion. Takes a long time to repair – Iodoral/ selenium therapy broke up the ROS from the oxidative damage with lots of nutritional support.

  3. This prone technique is definitely going in the right direction , if not the answer. My strain of covid was the B117 and it starting filling my lungs while laying on my back. I did not go back to laying on my back at all for many days. My positions were sitting with my back against the wall or chair or just moving around. The prone position for me was effective for only so long as I could withstand the pain which the position caused in my lower back. Obviously I survived the ordeal, but am still dealing with repercussions of blood draining down through my sinuses and also no sense of no taste or smell.
    Don’t stop the research, get it approved! It is definitely going to save lives.

  4. Obviously, I’m a little late to comment… although I did not have Covid at the time, I instead had a rare throat condition which narrowed my airway to 3mm – roughly the size of a straw. Breathing took great effort. Before I was diagnosed and underwent surgery, I naturally found laying on my stomach, without a pillow, arms under my chest, and head facing sideways was the only way I could breathe easier. For lower back pain, I would place 1-2 pillows under my legs between my knees and ankles (like they do in massages), or make a 4 with one of my legs. Although this aided in breathing while my body tried to literally suffocate itself, I would imagine, and have had, similar success with any sort of respiratory infection.

  5. When my Mom or Aunt (lived next door ) brought home a new baby the baby was always placed in the crib tummy side down. We all knew as kids that baby’s ‘spit up’ or ‘throw up’ a little after feeding. The baby would not choke this way. When rescuing a drown victim we are taught as lifeguards to turn them over first after making sure nothing is obstructing the airway. Same principle. It’s gravity folks. Common sense knowledge so overlooked today. Thanks for article.

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