COVID-19: Important medical Ayurvedic recommendations for prevention and treatment.

“While no drugs have yet been approved to treat the virus, there’s been a lot of attention within China on the use of Traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, by patients. The herb-based treatments are being used in some 87% of cases in the country, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Feb. 17” — as reported by NDTV.

Let’s get straight to the point. India has the ancient treasure of Ayurveda to address Coronavirus effectively. It is a savior in the country’s fight against the pandemic, if we know how to harness it. And, it would be a significant contribution towards the world’s fight against the disease.

HOW DO WE END THIS PANDEMIC THROUGH AYURVEDA

PART 1: PREVENTION

The idea is simple. Don’t make your body a host/carrier for the virus. You will not get the disease. You will not spread it.

Boosting immunity may be time consuming. But, this Ayurvedic regime will make your body extremely resistant to the Coronavirus.

1. Make a Herbal Decoction (Kadha/Kashayam) and drink it twice a day: One effective recipe is to boil black pepper (kali mirch/milagu), cumin (jeera), Coriander seeds (dhaniya) and dry ginger(saunt/sukku) in water for 15 minutes and consume the decoction twice a day. You can include Tulsi if it is available.
2. Ensure everything that you eat and drink is either warm or hot: Whether it is your meals or water ensure you heat and consume it. Avoid ice creams, cold drinks, food directly from the fridge completely. (ps: never warm or heat honey).
3. Avoid fruit juices, curd and buttermilk
4. Avoid heavy/very oily/fatty meals, especially if you are eating out (Ex: Biryani, Oily gravy items like Paneer Butter Masala, excessive sweets)
5. Avoid sleeping in the afternoons and keeping awake at night.

[ps: social distancing and isolation are important as well]

PART 2: SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE ESPECIALLY WITH THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO IT.

These recommendations are extremely accessible and affordable to most Indians. Please ensure you pass on this knowledge to your house help, drivers, milkman, grocery shopkeepers, etc. Make your own local language versions of this if necessary.

PART 3: TREATMENT

We know that the larger medical community has not found a cure yet. But, does Ayurveda offer a treatment?

The simple answer is yes. But, here is what we need to understand.

There is a fundamental difference in the way that Ayurveda or TCM approach the treatment of virus/flu from the way that modern western medicine/allopathy approaches it.

Allopathy develops anti-viral medicines specific to the strain of virus. Like Oseltamivir and Zanamivir were developed to cure the H1N1 virus. This often takes a lot of time. H1N1 (Swine Flu) was the last worldwide pandemic which affected over 1.2 Billion people and claimed over 500000 lives [source]. And in case of Coronavirus, allopathy does not have a cure yet.

However, Ayurveda treats viruses at a more fundamental level and the treatment is not specific to the strain of the virus. This 5000 year science has deep insight into the nature of the Human Body and nature of disease. Through this it can effectively treat Coronavirus or any other form of virus. Read the story on how Ayurveda effectively cured the H1N1 virus (Swine Flu) to understand this better.

What if I start experiencing symptoms of Coronavirus?

Visit an Ayurvedic Doctor/Vaidyar in your city/town and report the symptoms.[Ensure you report the symptoms at a Government center as well as per prescribed guidelines]. They will prescribe the right course of treatment for you, whether or not it is Coronavirus. If you are residing in India, this is a recommended course of action because:

1. Ayurveda has been treating all kinds of viruses and can successfully treat the virus whether it is Coronavirus or other.

2. Treatment will begin on day 1 leading to a faster cure. Instead of losing days in waiting to test whether it is Coronavirus or not, you can seek immediate treatment. Because, Ayurveda does not need to wait for the test result to treat the disease.

If you are residing in India, we can be grateful that we are gifted with access to this amazing treasure of Ayurveda. And it is the responsibility of each one of use to use this knowledge for ourselves as well as for the benefit of the larger community to bring an end to this pandemic.

At the same it is important for us to realize that most of the world doesn’t yet have the privilege of access to Ayurveda or other ancient systems of medicine, yet. So, with this little prayer, let’s pray with all our heart that Allopathy finds a cure very very soon. Or, we find a way to reach Ayurveda to the world. Whichever is faster.

ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः
सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु
मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Notes:

1. This article is written for people residing in India because of the easy access of the ingredients and Ayurvedic practitioners within the country.
2. Your doubts and questions will be addressed in the comments section.

This medical recommendation is written in consultation with the Chennai-based distinguished Ayurvedic Practitioner Dr. PLT Girija.