The Big Scare Is Still There- Ayurveda For Post COVID-19 Care
The world is still reeling over the chaos caused by the Covid 19 virus. The disease that spread to every continent and the case numbers still continue to rise. Authorities in 222 countries and territories have reported about 237.3 million Covid‑19 cases and 4.8 million deaths since China reported its first cases to the World Health Organization (WHO) in December 2019. It has changed the way life functions.
After almost 2.5 years from its presence, the virus is still active and we are not out of the pandemic. After taking the lives of millions across the globe, life is slowly coming down to normalcy with many pros and conditions applied. The only plus point is coming to normal is possible because people have accepted the new normal way of life. A life of social distancing, mask on face, avoiding social gatherings.
Update on UK and rest of Europe:
As the pandemic has spread across the globe, the virus has left a trail of deaths in its wake. Deaths in Europe and North America now outnumber Asia’s. In fact, according to the latest surveys, cases in the UK are still higher than in the rest of Europe. At the moment the U.K. has a higher level of Covid-19 than most other comparable countries. Britain was faster to reopen and relax restrictions than other European countries, and so reported the highest daily jump in new cases since mid-July.
Some Common Post COVID-19 Symptoms:
Even though one has been affected and healed from Covid-19, you can still be prone to the post-COVID syndrome. There are quite a few people who have again suffered post Covid-19 syndrome. The people who are more susceptible are the ones who were severely affected and required hospitalization for severe pneumonia or stroke. They need specialized care and frequent follow-up after being discharged. It can also affect people who had mild symptoms and are self-treated at home. Some research and studies show that only 10% of people with COVID will go on to develop the post-COVID syndrome, while other studies are showing much higher percentages — some even suggest that up to 70% of people experience persistent symptoms. Those who seem to be most at risk of developing post-COVID syndrome include:
- Adults over the age of 50
- People who experienced a more severe case
- Individuals with underlying health conditions, hypertension, diabetes, cardiopulmonary issues, or obesity.
Since Covid-19 is a viral infection, there would be many post-infection symptoms like weakness, anxiety and low respiratory immunity. After acute COVID-19 illness, recovered patients may continue to report a wide variety of signs and symptoms including cough, low-grade fever, and fatigue, all of which may relapse and remit. Other reported symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, headache, neurocognitive difficulties, muscle pains and weakness, gastrointestinal upset, rashes etc. The most common symptoms that can linger include:
- Fatigue
- Difficulty breathing
- Joint pain
- Chest pain
- Brain fog, including an inability to concentrate and impaired memory
- Loss of taste and/or smell
- Sleep issues
Ayurveda a Holistic Approach towards Post COVID-19 care:
As it is believed, ‘Time is the best healer’. Let’s see some holistic way when herbal intake can actually help us in a way to protect our immune system. Some of the food items are the kind of food high in antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, natural food which if consumed every day can keep cold, cough, flu, sore throat. Remember, the preventive measures that can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 continue to remain the same like:
- Social distancing
- Wearing a mask
- Avoiding crowds or large gatherings
- Practising excellent hand hygiene and avoiding touching your face
Over and above some Dos and Don’ts to keep the virus at bay can be followed like
Dos:
- Eat a healthy nutritious diet, balanced home-cooked food and diet intake.
- Keep yourself hydrated by drinking enough water all through the day.
- Stay fit, practise yoga, meditation, relaxation and a little bit of physical exercise which also includes breathing exercise.
- Inculcate the habit of daily morning and evening as a regular routine.
- Do get plenty of sleep and rest, it is required.
- Include Ginger which has anti-viral, anti-inflammatory properties. Can be eaten raw as well and used as a garnish on cooked food.
- Switch to the Ayurvedic diet and avoid fried and spicy foods. Also, include herbs and spices like Turmeric and Black pepper while cooking to further strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation.
- Consume homemade antiviral herbal tea. This is the simplest way to boost our immune system. The connoction of all the elements basil, cinnamon, black pepper, dry ginger and peppermint is a good antiviral tea.
- Steam inhalation to give relief against congestion.
- Essential oils like Eucalyptus Essential Oil are made of therapeutic herbs that help ease anxiety and relieve nasal congestion. They can also be massaged into the skin with carrier oils to get relief from pain.
- Last but not the least, always look out for warning signs like high-grade fever, unexplained chest pain, focal weakness, breathlessness, or new onset of confusion.
Don’ts:
- In case you were affected by covid, do not resume your old lifestyle right away. Too much work, anxiety, and stress will make you ill again.
- To meet or not to meet being the new normal, it’s better to avoid social and large gatherings. Encourage meetings over telephone calls, video conferencing, sharing of photographs through social media,
- Avoid eating out as much as possible. Freshly home-cooked food is the best.
- Avoid or reduce the consumption of saturated fat and junk foods like pizzas, burgers, aerated drinks.
- Limit the intake of salt and sugar in your diet.
- Avoid consumption of alcohol, smoking as immunity is low.
At Aryan herbals, we have a range of herbal products whether in herbal juice or herbal powder form which have antiviral and antibacterial properties. Chyawanprash is a formulation that can be taken to boost your immune system as well as strengthen your respiratory system. To name a few like Aryan Chyavanprash, Aryan Immune Support Juice. We also have Aryan Neem juice, Aryan Amla juice, Aryan Aloe vera ginger honey juice, Aryan Amla powder, etc that can improve your immune system. You can find all these and more herbal products online at our online herbal store.
With the arrival of vaccinations, there seems a bleak ray of hope as they can really bring the pandemic under control. The world that lies ahead of us may look different, challenging as compared to the years gone by, but there are reasons for hope and positivity. Life goes on like this.
As Ralph Marston rightly quotes “What you do today can improve all of your tomorrows.” Small changes and improvements you make today will make tomorrow easier and enable you to continue to grow and improve in health and wellness.
Stay Fit, Stay Safe, Stay Healthy!
ALSO READ:
What Ayurveda Has to Offer in the Fight Against COVID-19
7 Herbal Juices to Strengthen Your Immune System
Summary:
