Chikungunya - Lessons from the epidemic

CHIKUNGUNYA – REALITY BITES

Chikungunya is turning out to be a national epidemic & a major calamity. There are horror stories of whole villages in Rajasthan being affected & old people who are so debilitated that they are not able to feed themselves. Even after the fever goes away, patients are afflicted with severe joint pains for months. At this rate, it is conceivable that a large number of working people of our country will be unable to work for several months to come.

Those who sought Allopathic treatment for this disease were advised to take Paracetamol. Some Antibiotics were also recommended. To take care of pain, Pain Killers & Steroids were also suggested. This line of treatment has been given very wide publicity through newspapers. However, Patients who were subjected to this line of treatment were left with severe joint pains, which totally incapacitated them. Many patients complained if severe stomach irritations as a consequence of long-term use of painkillers & other drugs. Doctors in various conferences noted, “No vaccine or specific anti-viral treatment was available for this fever. Neither are there preventive drugs.” Since the disease was said to spread through mosquito bites, people were advised to wear long-sleeved dresses & trousers!!! It was clear that Allopathic specialists were encountering a public health problem that they could not comprehend.

While the Allopathic system seems to have no medicine or treatment to cure or prevent the disease, or take care of the after-effects – most importantly severe joint pains – Ayurveda / Siddha Physicians have been routinely treating this fever. They also have been successful in preventive care & treatment of the after-effects. For e.g., Ayurvedic medicines, which are commonly used in the treatment of fevers, like Guduchi (Seenthil Kodi in Tamil), Sudarshan Churnam have been very effective in treating this fever. Drugs that are used in treating Vata Raktam (Rheumatoid Arthritis) like Kaisora Guggulu have also been found very effective in taking care of joint pains. Administering these medicines during fever ensures that after the fever. There are no joint pains. After the fever subsides, Patients are asked to use Dhanvantaram Thailam & Pinda Thailam for daily oil-bath. This takes care of any residual joint pains.

Even those patients who have come after a course of Allopathic drug complaining of severe joint pains have found relief by following the Ayurvedic treatment. It is important to note that Diet restrictions form an essential part of Ayurvedic treatment. Ayurvedic medicines have also been used as preventive treatment quite effectively.

Recognizing the efficacy of Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM), the Health Department of Tamil Nadu Government made an announcement through the newspapers informing the public that ISM medicines are effective in treating this disease and that these medicines will be made available in all Government Hospitals & Health Centers. Following this announcement, large numbers of patients who have been desperate with no relief in sight, have sought Ayurvedic treatment & found relief.

During this outbreak, Allopathic experts kept insisting that a virus causes the fever. One leading professor of Neurology even said that the Virus has undergone mutations & that it would give risk to Long-lasting Neurological disorders. Once it is admitted that Virus is the cause, it implies that there is no treatment for the disease. So it was evident that the Public Health System was helpless in the face of this onslaught.

All these while the ISM Physicians were not only facing up to the challenge but were doing a great job of curing people. This is possible because ISM identifies a disease in terms of an imbalance of three bodily factors i.e., Vata, Pitta & Kapha. Any disease, no matter caused by Virus or any other organism, results in specific imbalance of the three factors in the body. Hence treatment consists of identifying the type of imbalance & restoring the balance of these three factors. It is therefore not a great surprise that Ayurveda & Siddha Physicians have successfully cured this disease without having to worry about the viruses & their mutations.

Incidentally, the two important drugs in the Ayurvedic treatment Sudarshan Churnam & Dhanvantaram Gutika are available even with Village Health Nurses (VHN) in Tamil Nadu. These Drugs are part of the ISM kit given to the VHN. These two drugs along with Guduchi can be safely administered even to pregnant women. Guduchi (Seenthil Kodi) is a commonly available widely prevalent creeper. It is found in all the four southern states & villagers are familiar with it. Decoction of this herb with Sudarsan Churnam can be made available at practically no cost to the people.

There seems to be an important lesson in all this. In every public health crisis such as this, we seem to rely exclusively on Allopathic System of Medicine. However, time & again this policy has failed us, leaving our people at the mercy of major epidemics. And repeatedly our ISM medicines & treatments have proved themselves more than capable in handling such crisis. We do not need to wait for national calamities in order to get rid of our mental block. Denying our people the benefits of Indian Systems of Medicine can no longer be seen as a mistake. It is in fact a criminal neglect.