What if you could treat, and even prevent COVID-19 with a simple sniff?—No needles, and no pills.

Many vaccines and drug manufacturers have asked this very question.

In India a promising contender is the Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19 developed by Mumbai based Glenmark pharmaceuticals in collaberation with Canadian pharmaceutical company SaNOtize Research and Development which was one of the first to come out with an antiviral nasal spray to prevent and treat COVID-19.

India's Bharat Biotech, and ITC also have their own nasal COVID vaccines and treatments in the making.

Nasal sprays are already being used left, right and centre as Omicron drives up the COVID-19 cases around the world, and on the face of it seem like a great alternative for those who have trouble with needles or haven't taken the injectable vaccines.

But, how much do we really know about these nasal sprays? Can they really prevent and treat COVID-19? Is it that easy?

FIT asks experts.

Antiviral nasal sprays are not a new concept. In fact, nasal sprays themselves have been used to treat a number of infections and ease symptoms related to common cold and flu.

Their non-invasive and easy application make them particularly popular.

How does it work?

According to the European Pharmaceutical Review, antiviral nasal sprays work by 'encapsulating and deactivating the virus while it is still in the nose, preventing its wider uptake by the body.'

"What they will do is that those viruses which are fully grown and adult viruses, the nasal spray kills them, so that they don’t go to create an infection," explains Dr Om Srivastav, Consultant Infectious Diseases, Reliance Foundation Hospital.

Apart from killing the virus, nasal sprays also create a coating in the nasal cavity to trap incoming virus, preventing them from descending into the lungs, says Dr Bela Sharma, Additional Director, Internal Medicine, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram.

Does that mean it can help with COVID? Theoretically, yes, it could, say experts.

"The biggest concentration of the virus in someone who is already infected are is likely to be sitting in the nasal cavity, and in the mouth of such patients. That is why a nasal spray is something that is touted as a potential benefit for such infections," further explains Dr Om Srivastava.

But Dr Sharma, and others emphasise that just because they could work against COVID theoretically, doesn't mean they are recommended for COVID-19.

"We are not really prescribing nasal sprays and pills for COVID as yet, and it's not recommended that you take them either," adds Dr Sharma.

All the experts we spoke to pointed to a lack of evidence as far as the effectiveness of antiviral nasal sprays for treating COVID is concerned.

“Neither do the Indian guidelines nor do the WHO guidelines recommend it," he adds.

"How it’s going to impact COVID, especially Omicron and Delta, that we will only know once there are trials with the results that get published in a peer reviewed journal," adds Dr Srivastava.

In the absence of sufficient scientific evidence to support their use, doctors are unconvinced by the use of these antiviral nasal sprays for COVID treatment and prevention.

Should the antiviral nasal sprays already available in the market be used if you have COVID? No, reiterates, Dr Vikas Deswal Consultant Internal Medicine Medanta Gurgaon.

Currently, a few antiviral nasal sprays are being developed by companies across the world as a potential treatment for COVID. In India, ITC and LaBelforte have their own COVID nasal sprays that are in various stages of clinical trials.

In the meantime, Canada's SaNOtize Research & Development Corp's Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) is set to be manufactured and marketed in India by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd once it receives DCGI approval.

"Ideally, all medications that are being dispensed as over the counter medications should have prescriptions. Such products should only be given with a prescription and not someone who walks into a chemist store and asks for it," says Dr Om Srivastava.

However, he adds, this isn't always practiced.

In the case of nasal sprays, this is apparent because one can buy non-specific nasal sprays over the counter without prescriptions.

Many companies are able to slip their products through the crack by not explicitly labelling their products as antiviral nasal sprays meant for COVID-19.

Should these general antiviral nasal sprays be used if you have COVID? No, reiterates, Dr Vikas Deswal Consultant Internal Medicine Medanta Gurgaon.

To sum it up, there is no conclusive scientific evidence to prove that antiviral nasal sprays (at least the ones that are currently in the market) can prevent or treat COVID-19.

At the most, they may be able to provide symptomatic relief.

However, doctors have been firm in asserting that they should not be prescribed for COVID-19 as no COVID antiviral nasal spray has been granted approval by the DCGI in India.

These nasal sprays touted to prevent and treat COVID can also be expensive, especially if they have to imported, their price ranging from a hundred rupees, going up to over five thousand rupees.