Staying up late because of the epidemic? You will regret it someday!

With the frequent outbreaks of the epidemic, have you gotten enough sleep recently if you are working from home or in quarantine? (Have you "strictly implemented" the "late bed, early rise" rule?)

Do you skip exercise? Do you eat whatever you want (or don’t eat)?

It feels great, but unhealthy behaviors such as irregular work and rest schedules, overeating, etc. will lead to reduced immunity and increase the risk of infection!

The purpose of working from home and isolation is to prevent the new coronavirus, but what the new coronavirus fears most is actually strong immunity.

Although antiviral drugs are now on the market that can prevent the virus from replicating and combining with the human body, the elimination of the virus and the repair of damage still require strong immunity.

Viruses, the oldest "parasitic residents" that have existed on Earth for billions of years, are a chilling term. They are always closely associated with darkness, disease, and death, and we humans are just a drop in the ocean to them.

In the process of the development of human civilization, viruses have continuously used various biological and chemical weapons. In a sense, the history of human development is a history of viral infection of biochemical systems, such as smallpox that has been active for several centuries, the Spanish flu in the early twentieth century, and diseases caused by various coronaviruses.

Viral pneumonia, in particular, has attracted much attention due to its high infectiousness, high mortality rate, and low treatment measures. The immune system is a strong enemy of viral pneumonia.

The virus blurs the boundaries of life

Viruses are microorganisms that are much smaller than bacteria. We cannot see them at all without an electron microscope that can magnify them more than 10,000 times.

In fact, the existence of viruses has posed a problem to scientists, making the definition of life unclear, because it is both like life and unlike life. Structurally, viruses only have nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) and proteins, and no growth and metabolism system. Its mission is very pure, and reproduction is its only motivation. The more offspring it has, the more successful it is.

RNA viruses

Image source: Tuchong Creative

Unlike bacteria, viruses can only survive by relying on nutrients from other cells, such as living animal cells. If we must regard viruses as a kind of organism, then they are parasites through and through.

Moreover, the virus will play some tricks, successfully penetrate into the cell through the receptors on the cell surface, and use the nucleic acids, proteins and other substances in it to replicate itself countless times until the cell is exhausted. Then it is time to cross the river and destroy the bridge, and a large number of new viruses will escape from the dead cells and look for new prey cells.

Why is viral pneumonia difficult to treat?

The lungs are the organ in the human body that is in most direct contact with the external environment. The total respiratory area exceeds 100m2, and the daily gas exchange volume reaches 10,000L. Viruses or bacteria can take advantage of the opportunity to enter the body through breathing.

We have a special weapon for the treatment of bacterial pneumonia - antibiotics. Common bacteria are located outside human cells, and invaders and natives are clearly distinguished. Antibiotics can accurately distinguish between bacteria and normal human cells, just like precision-guided missiles, targeting sensitive bacteria and eliminating them directly, with limited damage to human cells, killing bacteria without hurting people.

When it comes to viral pneumonia, it becomes a tortuous and bumpy story. The virus hides in human cells and uses the substances that make up the human body to survive, just like a spy disguised in the crowd.

As an ancient creature with "well-developed limbs" but a "brain" that is not simple at all, it uses all kinds of tricks to evade human surveillance: hiding here and there, camouflaging itself on the surface, making it unrecognizable to signal soldiers, producing immunosuppressants, interfering with immune cells, etc., allowing the virus to lurk smoothly.

Therefore, it is difficult for us to find antiviral drugs that can attack viruses without affecting the normal functions of human cells. If we are not careful, the point attack will turn into a surface attack and accidentally injure normal cell tissues.

When faced with cunning viruses, our best option is to mobilize our own immune system.

The immune system is the best guard of the human body. In the first few days after the virus invades, the human body releases interferon to inhibit or change the synthesis of viral proteins, thereby inhibiting viral synthesis; dispatches soldiers (various cytokines) to tip off and call on white blood cells to fight; signal soldier white blood cells (antigen presenting cells) identify and cultivate "special forces" (virus-specific T lymphocytes) to fight against the virus; mature lymphocytes produce antibodies to prevent the virus from entering the cell. With the multi-pronged approach of the human body, viral infection can be effectively controlled.

But since it is a battle, casualties are inevitable, and an appropriate immune response is very beneficial to the removal of the virus and tissue repair. However, the immune system's pursuit of the virus also needs to be just right. Excessive pursuit or a little laxity will make the disease worse.

Viruses and dead cells will cause the body to produce an inflammatory response. Sometimes the human body reacts strongly to the enemy and produces an excessive inflammatory response, known as a cytokine storm, which has a strong killing effect on the virus, but also damages the lung tissue, other organs and even muscle tissue, causing multiple organ failure and leading to death.

On the contrary, if the human body underestimates the external enemy, or a protracted war leads to exhaustion of immune cells and a sharp decline in immune function, the number of viruses will continue to increase and seriously damage human tissues, or if other pathogens such as bacteria cause overlapping infections, the condition will further worsen and may also lead to death.

Therefore, in treating viral pneumonia, doctors are like walking on a tightrope to maintain the balance of the immune system. When the immune response is too intense, doctors will use immunosuppressive drugs, such as glucocorticoids, to reduce the degree of immune response. However, this can take the opportunity to accelerate the reproduction of viruses, such as the risk of increased mortality in patients with influenza pneumonia.

If immune cells are obviously depleted and the immune system is unable to cope, doctors will use drugs to enhance immunity. When other organs are also affected by the virus, doctors will use extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), blood purification technologies such as continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), plasma exchange, artificial liver technology, etc. to remove inflammatory factors, help patients overcome the difficulties of multiple organ failure, and wait for the immune system to fight back.

Therefore, when faced with viral pneumonia, we rely entirely on our powerful immune system to clear the virus and repair tissues.

Facing viral pneumonia, we can do this

No.1 Maintain a healthy lifestyle and exercise more to keep your immune system functioning normally;

No.2 Do not diet or overeat. Nutritional imbalance may damage the immune response to infection.

No.3 Get the COVID-19 vaccine in time to enhance your immunity;

No.4 Washing hands frequently, wearing masks, drinking plenty of water, getting enough rest, and avoiding excessive fatigue are all good strategies.

The following are sports recommendations from the Shanghai Youth Sports Association’s official account:

① Four-point crawling

Strengthens the core trunk and back muscles

② Supine Leg Raise