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Cheap Blood Thinning drug available all across Europe could combat coronavirus and help boost Holidaymakers to Spain’s Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca

By Tony Winterburn • Published: 18 May 2020 • 11:54

DOCTORS believe that blood-thinning drugs could help combat the coronavirus after a number of patients experienced a drop in oxygen levels known as ‘happy hypoxia’ in a discovery that help revive Spain’s declining travel and tourist industry

Researchers at Imperial College London have now found a clear link between the virus and clots in the lung and readily available blood-thinning drugs could help relieve symptoms.

One of the things holding back tourists to Spain, apart from the 14-day quarantine, is the worry of catching the coronavirus. The tourism industry is in dire need of a boost and the news of this discovery is expected to put potential holidaymakers’ minds at rest.

As the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol have moved into Phase 1 of the lockdown this comes as a welcome boost for both economies as hotels open their doors to paying guests for the first time in two months.

Low Oxygen Levels

Patients across Europe have been presenting at hospitals with dramatically low oxygen levels, which would usually leave them unable to talk – shocking doctors as they continue to be able to hold a conversation and even sit up in bed in some cases.

A specialist in experimental medicine, Peter Openshaw said the condition is a “really nasty twist” that “hasn’t been seen before with other viruses.” One senior lecturer also said that using “significant therapeutic doses of blood thinning agents could save lives.”

Brijesh Patel said that this would only work if the interventions were implemented appropriately. Dr Patel’s research used CT scans to capture images of lung function with some of the sickest patients.

Dr Patel added that the approaches to treatment would have to be personalised, he also said: “We’ve seen 150 patients that have come through the Royal Brompton and having had a look at many of them over the past couple of months we’ve learnt a lot.