Tuesday, 20 July 2021

About a Treatment for the Common Cold, Including COVID-19


COVID-19 has for more than a year highjacked my mind and website. My initial goal was to help keep my local ski mountain open for the next season. The ski season opened but not because of my efforts. 

Over the last few years, I had found that by applying sufficient heat to my sinuses and nasal cavities the colds would go away. But after reading and learning about where colds develop in our upper respiratory tract I began to understand some of the medical language, terms, and processes. I had a mission to determine why I got positive results for this simple application of heat. Why did my simple treatment work? 

The pink and red are the areas of interest
I found that there has been extensive study of the rhinoviruses but most of it concerned the mechanism on how cold viruses were able to multiply and the conditions necessary and how to block the process.  There is little information on how to destroy the viruses directly once the replication has begun. I knew from previous experience that viruses have upper-temperature limits and eventually found that for cold viruses humidity also plays an important part.

The general information is that our chances of survival after being infected are quite high but very good for younger people and less as a person ages. High infection and old age are a bad combination. Why is this? Speculating it could be a combination of the amount of physical activity, metabolic rate, and a lower core temperature as we age. It may also depend on the virus variant and its upper-temperature sensitivity when the viruses fail.

When I discovered that the upper sensitivity of the coronavirus was possibly as low as 37.5 0C On my own I discovered that by blocking my nose and breathing through my mouth, can raise the nasal cavity and nasopharynx (top of throat tube) to my body core temperature, I knew that it was possible to make my treatment workable for most people. By concentrating the added heat application at the center of the pink zone, (figure top right above) the transmitted heat is sufficient to meet the criteria of 38-39 0C and >95% relative humidity. But if the core temperature is in the above criteria range because of a fever or higher metabolic rate, adding extra heat may not be necessary.

So you don’t have to look at all the previous posts I made a PDF download of  How to Cure Common Cold(6)  Or in the separate list to the right. The first portion before I added the previous posts is all you need to get started. The following previous posts have the information on how and where to apply extra heat. I liked the post immediately following this one, on "Tinkering with Colds", which is included at the end of this summary. 

Does this this treatment work?  I don’t know the efficacy of this treatment. All I know is that it works for me and my friends, and over 11,000 views from countries around the world. No person or organization has commented, just me, as a test. So if you wish to comment, send me a note at:   alanrskitalk@gmail.com 

Good luck and good health to you. 

AlanR, the engineer

Tuesday, 16 March 2021


Tinkering with Colds (more coronaviruses stuff, Revision 1)

The infrared gun gives both the target
 and background temperature values.

If you look closely at how the components of our immune system work, the coronavirus, and other cold viruses, could be dispatched readily if you chose not to tinker with them.  We know more about viruses and their morphology than we did 60 years ago.  Our body has a very sophisticated system for dealing with pathogens and is worth looking at its advantages and shortcomings.

When you get a cold, a fever is one of the first reactions of the immune system. This raises our mean temperature to a level equal to the sensitivity temperature of most cold viruses. This is good because most cold viruses reproduce between 32-33 0C and relative humidity 45%, slow reproduction significantly at normal core temperature, and meet their demise at > (38-39) 0C and RH>95%. The higher fever temperature will prevent the virus from doing damage to the lungs. Taking fever suppressants such as acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen will prolong the cold and may increase the probability of serious damage. Another point about fever is that it may suggest that you feel chilled.  It is best to add more covering, as fever is a high-energy user, and this will help you to reach the higher needed temperature.

The immune system also increases the production of mucus. This helps to wash away some of the reproduced viruses and debris caught or created. Mucus can also plug your nose valves at the outer end of the nose. When this happens, the temperature will rise in the Upper Respiratory Tract (URT) to your core temperature. Also, the RH will be similar to the lungs, >95%.  This condition will cause the end of the viruses and probably the way people survived in the past. Breathing through the mouth can be uncomfortable but if you are engaged in any physical activity, that breathing through the nose is insufficient, breathing through the mouth is automatic. We tinker by clearing the nose too soon.

The immune system gets busy creating antibodies for the future and present. There is a race between the viruses and the antibodies and many factors cause the outcome. This is the portion of the immune system that pharmaceutical companies tinker with. Vaccines created are often immune system enhancers. They precondition the immune system by helping it create antibodies for specific viruses.

It is critical to treat a cold immediately on infection, to avoid damage to your major sensor systems, smell, sight, and hearing. Viruses can play havoc with the various tube openings in the URT, and mucus can plug these important channels, a shortcoming.  Any disturbance has a very short distance to the brain which may cause something unpredictable.

So, I propose to tinker positively. People that have tested positive (long haulers?) and have no fever, maybe reservoirs, and may have a high metabolic rate. It is still necessary to assume infection.  Adding heat as suggested or by a workout, or some way to increase the core temperature (38-39) 0C, then block the nose for an hour or so. 

If your old and have a core temperature of about 36.3 0C like me, do one of the treatments adding heat with a heating pad or hand warmer as suggested in my previous post. A couple of repeats may be necessary or two short ones a day apart if you prefer. Add extra covering, hats, coats, sweaters, layers, etc.

Some other alternatives are hot tubs if you are accustomed to them. Or a sauna will work provided the temperature and humidity reach the demise criteria above.

How will you know if the treatment works? I did my treatment at night before going to bed and the colds were usually gone by morning. The residue if I waited too long to apply a treatment, took a few days to clear up. You should feel better almost when you finish.

What I would love to happen is a proper test in vivo, for efficacy, and parameter variations. If you are reading this you will note at the bottom there is a place to comment. There is only one comment, mine to see if it works. So I’m cruising blind and hoping I am helping and not causing any harm.  Please comment!

I’m in the process of writing a summary and putting all the posts about colds and COVID-19 as a download under my ski manual and video.  As an engineer, I apply science and don’t necessarily create it. Like pharmaceuticals, the treatments I suggest are also enhancements to our immune system  but applied after infection, not for prevention.

There are 5 pervious posts about COVID-19. You may have to klick on older posts below to see all of them.


Friday, 18 December 2020


Nose blocked, heat added 04
Hand warmer pad 02
Band-aid blocker 03
Heating pad heat 01







In simplified terms: 

1.  get a heat source of your choice as suggested, 

2.  plug your nose, breathe through your mouth.


4. Times up, remove nose plug tape, 

5. Clear your nose as needed.  

The caveats: There are some rules. 

  • Be smart! Wear a mask until everyone is vaccinated.

Me, fooling around, 2 hats, 3 neck warmers
Checking Temperature Effects
It warms the incoming air 
        Some References

1.                            - Why is temperature sensitivity important for the success of common respiratory viruses?                       Eccles R.,      Rev Med Virol. 2020;e02153. https://doi.org/10. 1002/rmv.2153



                 Uzoigwe, Chika Edward     https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(20)30424-9/pdf


     3.   -The Effects of Temperature and Relative Humidity on the Viability of the SARS                        coronavirus,    K. H. Chan, et al,  https://www.hindawi.com/journals/av/2011/734690/





        M. D.     Johansen1, et al,

        Mucosal Immunology (2020) 13:877–891; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41385-020-00340-z 





           HHS Author Manuscripts   PMC4786079

Thursday, 27 August 2020

COVID-19 AlanR Treatment 03

COVID-19 AlanR Treatment 03

This is a different treatment that requires only a bandage.  When we breathe in, we create in our nasal and sinus chambers the ideal environment for the cold viruses to propagate. By stopping the airflow through these passages the temperature quickly rises to our core temperature. It is assumed that the humidity is close to saturation. This combination seems to kill off the viruses. There are several requirements needed for it to work. It will require some application time, about 1.5 hours a session, and may require 1-3 repeat the following days.

·First, If you have a fever oral temperature, that is good. If it has a reading of 39 0C that is best. This is required as it is assumed that the stopping of the COVID-19 is similar to other cold viruses such as the rhinoviruses which are dispatched at 38.7 degrees C and relative humidity of greater than 95%. A caveat is that the actual values are at present not published or known. So if you are tested positive it is still worth a try.

, Block off both sides of your nose for a minimum of 1.5 hours.  This seems like a long time. When I tried just holding my nose I gave up after 10 minutes and started looking for another way. I first tried masking tape then several types of bandages.  By wiping the oil off my nose the bandage pictured seals all around the padded portion. This worked like a charm.

·        Third, swallowing can be a problem, so if necessary, release one side temporarily. After a short time I became accustomed to breathing through my mouth and was soon reading or watching a movie.

·        Fourth, If this works for you, you will know the next day if your various passages are clear.  If only partially, repeat the process.  Or better still add some heat suggested in my 3 previous posts.

·        Fifth, the above process if it works at all for you, it is limited to your upper respiratory tract. As mentioned above, when you breathe in through your mouth, you are cooling your throat making it possible to still cultivate the virus. Breathing out again reheats and humidifies the throat. Rapping your throat with a scarf or an old Tee shirt will help to maintain the surface area at near core temperature and high humidity.  

      In summary, using heat to fend off respiratory infections has most likely evolved by natural selection over a long time.  I have noted one weakness in this process which enhances the propagation of the virus, by creating a surface area with ideal temperature and humidity. By blocking the airflow, the nasal and sinus chambers stagnate at core temperature and greater than 95% humidity creating the opposite environment, destroying the virus.  I suspect that we have survived by not clearing these areas plus our immune system has been improved over the same eons of time. 

      My suggested treatment is simply to enhance the existing systems with extra heat. The heat is transferred efficiently by conduction to the infected areas by water content, ligaments, and bone structure. So this is an engineered solution that if applied when an infestation has been determined, a cold can easily be removed.  It should be noted that this may not be a complete cure for colds but it will remove the most dominant reproduction location for viruses from the equation and give the internal immune system a much lighter load to carry. 

      The AlanR treatment 03.

Thursday, 25 June 2020

A Possible COVID-19 Home Remedy 02 enhanced

     COVID-19 maybe and other colds in general, here is possible solution. This is my third attempt to show my treatment process that I now use.  At one time, I took hot baths to get rid of colds. Out of curiosity I measured my core temperature while in the tub and it measured at 102 degrees F (38.777 degree C). Recently I found that the rhinovirus, 200 varieties, seem to stop existing above this temperature. Will it work for the SARS-CoV-2 virus? Who knows? Here are some pictures of me working on my last cold. See my last post for equipment detail. I forgot the materials for the pouch, See my note below the treatment exercise.
   Here is the start:                                         
Open the hand warming pad and massage it to start the heating process.  It may be necessary to massage the pad occasionally it starts to cool. No need to hurry as they last up to 6 hours or more. Note: these pads are design to heat parts of the body to temperatures above core.

 Insert the warming pad into the pouch and let the pouch warm up.
I used a meat thermometer to check the heat. The actual temperature can get much higher but when you place it on your face or hands it cools down to the temperature shown.  Feel the pouch with your hand and try it on your arms to make sure you are comfortable to proceed.

1. When warm place the pouch on the side of your nose.  Press on the opening of your nose and hold the loosely along the side of your nose. 
Hold for about 10 minutes in each of the following locations.
Breathing through your mouth stops the cool incoming air from entering and helps to maintain the high humidity. I call it the Malaysia effect. So breath through your mouth for each step.

2. Now place the pouch on the other side of your nose.  You will notice one finger is pressing the pouch against the top of the nose in the above picture. Do the same for this step.                                        
Note in steps 3 to 7 the pouch will over lap the same location, the top of the nose.  The bone structure behind this location helps to conduct the heat to the area of highest virus reproduction. This stops the process.

3. This location is include both the nasal passages and the sinuses in the centre of  the forehead.

4. Place the pouch on one side of the forehead just above the eyebrows including above the nose.

5. Similar to 4. above only on the other side of the forehead. Both 4. and 5. cover the sinuses above the eyes.

6. Chose one cheek below the eye and close the nose opening to prevent air flow in the nasal passages.

7. And the same as above on the other side.

 8. I use my right hand to heat the left side of my throat placing the pouch as high as possible below my jaw.

9.  Similarly, I use my right hand to hold the pouch on the left side.

Depending on how long or how much damage the virus has done it may be necessary to repeat the treatment.  On trying this treatment and if it works a person should feel much better in an hour or so.

If properly sealed in a bag the one pad should be sufficient.  The pads do not cause harm to the environment. 

COVID-19 Maybe? My proposed solution, materials, and comment.

  The solution that I have presented should come under the heading of Home Remedies, as it has no official standing.  I did try to find several organizations and people that I thought might be interested, but as I have mentioned I received no personal replies, mostly form letters. My first post on the subject in April had over 500 views, unheard of number for my blog.  I wrote the second blog on the subject because I wanted to present a simple design, for this specific application. On a piece-wise basis, the design is much less expensive and could be mass-produced or made for a single-use application. On a single unit, one-time use using scrap material and masking tape the cost is less than $5 (A pair of  hand warmer pads at CTC cost about $2 including tax)  but on mass production about $2.

I know that this treatment works for colds and flu, for my self and my wife and a few friends.  I published it to determine the efficacy of this approach from your comments, as I could find no other option.  Also, the downside to someone trying this treatment is minimal.  If you stick to my guidelines of staying in the heating ranges I suggest, there should be no harm done.  There are no chemicals or potions that can do any harm. It is analogous to the mustard plasters that my mother used on me as a child. It can be applied at home and no special equipment is required. The results are immediate and you will know by your nasal and sinuses clearing up. I would not have published the last two posts if this treatment would cause any damage.

The problem with acceptance of calling this a cure is that there is the assumption that the common cold can’t be cured.  The reason is that there are over 200 versions of the rhinovirus and each one requires a specific vaccine.  Some reports show their reproduction rate given a suitable environment of humidity and temperature, can vary widely from below 24 0 C up to 37 0C.  At 38.7 0C and humidity greater than 90% the rate drops off to zero. The humidity is the issue as I understand the virus can exist at higher and lower temperatures but lower humidity.

 Blocking off your nose raises the temperature in your nasal and sinus passages to core temperature and the relative humidity must be 90% plus. All my treatment does is raise the temperature artificially to about 41 0C where I assume the COVID-9 won’t survive.

The other issue is I neglected what materials to use of the pouch. The cloth I used is unbleached, close weaved, cotton muslin. At Len’s Mills in Ontario, a yard of 36” wide is about $5. And the insulation material is called quilted broadcloth ¼” thick. It is made of a layer of cotton backing with a layer of polyester batting. About $11 a yard. The idea is that one side of the pad is just a cloth layer and the other some material that will allow air in and out of the pad. If the pad is too hot you have to add another layer of cloth to the hot side.

My hope is that this will work on the COVID-19 virus as it cut short the ski season by 3 weeks. It would be great that the next season proceeded unhampered. 


Wednesday, 10 June 2020