ABSTRACT
Contact lens (CL) is an optical device with a thin layer applied directly to the cornea of the eye. CL primarily corrects refractive errors. Despite the advantages, it can cause serious complications if CL Wearer (CLW) fail to clean, disinfect and store them appropriately. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate CLWs' awareness and practices and evaluate the effect of the corona virus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the frequency of CL wearing and hygiene in Saudi Arabia. A descriptive cross-sectional study was directed at individuals wearing a CL in Saudi Arabia. A total of 1468 participants were involved in the investigation between February 2022 and October 2022. The participants completed a well-structured, Arabic-based, validated questionnaire. Participants' mean age was 26.6 +/- 8.9 years. Of the participants, 84% were female and 89.1% had university-level education. Regarding hygiene practices, 86.6% of the participants washed their hands before CL use and 55.4% washed CLs daily before use. Approximately 15.2% of the participants reported that they share CLs with others and 10.5% wear them even while sleeping. Approximately 48.2% of the participants reported that their CL use decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, 40.1% reported that the frequency of washing hands before and after using CLs increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study show that the majority of the participants had good CL-related hygiene practices and awareness of CL. Hence, during the COVID-19 pandemic, most participants reported a decrease in CL use and an increase in hand washing before and after CL use.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Effective treatment for patients with the novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is desperately needed and is under rigorous research. Nigella sativa oil (NSO), a herbal medicine, that has a documented wide antiviral and immunomodulatory activities offering a therapeutic potential for COVID-19. Methods: Adult symptomatic patients with mild COVID-19 were recruited between May and August 2020 from King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. They were randomly assigned to receive supplementation with oral capsules of NSO (MARNYS' Cuminmar 500 mg twice daily for 10 days) plus standard of care or standard of care medications alone. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients recovered (free of symptoms for 3 days) within 14 days after randomization. This trial was registered with clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04401202. Results: A total of 120 patients were enrolled. Their mean age was 35 (SD=11) years old and 57% of them were male. There were 60 patients in the treatment group (NSO) and 60 patients in the control group. The proportion of patients recovered in the treatment group was significantly higher than the control group, 42 (70%) versus 27 (45%) (p=0.006). Additionally, there was a significant difference in the average recovery time among both groups, 9.9 (SD=3.3) versus 11.6 (SD=3.4) days (p=0.006). Furthermore, 3 patients from the control group required hospitalization within the study period versus one in the treatment group. Adverse events were reported in 3 patients of NSO recipients as gastrointestinal symptoms. Conclusion: In this RCT of adult patients with mild COVID-19, NSO was associated with a significant increase in the likelihood of recovery and a decrease in the likelihood of hospitalization. To our knowledge, this is the first RCT that shows potential therapeutic benefits of NSO in patients with COVID-19 which requires further confirmation with larger double-blinded RCTs. Keywords: Black seed, Nigella sativa, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2;randomized controlled trial