AN AYURVEDIC APPROACH TO POST COVID ILLNESS

Dr. Mansi Grewal*, Dr. Yogesh Kumar Pandey

ABSTRACT

Introduction: COVID-19 manifests as varied clinical features affecting different organ systems. In post-COVID state, patients often present with post-viral fatigue, dyspnea, olfactory and/or gustatory dysfunction, depressive mood and behavior, thrombotic events, cardiac complications, etc. These can be managed on principles of jwara, raktapitta, shwasa, vatavyadhi, marmopghata. Aim: To understand presenting features of post-COVID-19 illness through principles of ayurveda and devise a preventive and therapeutic plan for the same. Methodology: LitCovid engine, google scholar, WHO website, ayurvedic texts are searched with specific keywords and evidence gathered is critically analyzed on therapeutic concepts of remnant dosha post Sannipataja Jwara, secondary Raktapitta, Shwas resulting in urah shushkta, marmopghata, oja, and vyadhi sankara etc. Results and discussion: Post-COVID manifestations bear resemblance to concepts of depletion in oja, state of asanjaat bala post jwara, remnant doshas post jwara, shotha complications, urah shushkta due to shwasa, shira and hridya marmopghata, indriya santapa, rakta vitiation, raktapitta, bhaishaj vyapad, kleda and krimi. Preventive measures should be propagated. Preexisting co-morbidities must be checked for and dashvidha rogi pariksha should be done to assess atura and dosha bala in order to assess prognosis and decide dosage of therapeutics. Treatment should be started after proper evaluation of roga avastha, rogi and roga bala, status of prana. Outcomes of therapeutic regime can be evaluated through examination of characteristics of vikaropshaman reflective of dhatusamyata. Conclusion: Post-COVID illnesses manifest differently in different people. Underlying process of delayed recovery, continuous inflammation, altered coagulation, and profibrotic mechanisms are common culprits. These pathologies have a notorious history of becoming chronic autoinflammatory, autoimmune diseases. Multiple viral illnesses are known triggers for such inflammatory disorders. Therefore it is essential to prevent and manage all updrava, vyadhi sankara, and especially diseases of vital organs through timely assessment of rogi-roga avastha and bala.

Keywords: Ayurveda, Jwara, post-COVID.