Publication

Abstract : The second wave of COVID-19 has overwhelmed the Indian Health Care system. The system is gasping for breath and hospitals are struggling with oxygen shortage, crunch for beds and ICU facilities with ventilator support. There are frequent reports of patients dying at home, on the road or in hospital corridors due to inadequate access to oxygen support and institutional care. In cities like Mumbai, this situation has prompted many patients to approach Ayurveda practitioners as a desperate supportive option. The Ministry of AYUSH has issued guidelines for practitioners who are treating COVID-19 patients[1]. There are anecdotal accounts of patients getting benefitted by Ayurvedic interventions in severe hypoxic conditions.

The purpose of this short communication is to recommend further studies to explore the integration of a specific Ayurvedic intervention in early stages of decreasing peripheral oxygen saturation levels. Due to the unprecedented challenge posed by the escalation of the pandemic, Ayurveda physicians are caring for COVID-19 patients in intensive care settings with the consent of the patients as well as treating physicians or in home settings with the consent of the family members as add on therapy. Our recommendations are based on outcomes observed in several patients with low SpO2 readings following continuous sublingual administration of classical Ayurvedic formulations like Shaddharana Churnam, Apamarga Ksharam, Pippali Churnam, Rasasinduram and Naradiya Lakshmi Vilasa Rasam in divided microdoses. Ministry of AYUSH is dynamically updating the classical Ayurvedic formulations that are used by Ayurvedic practitioners for management of COVID-19