CMAAO CORONA FACTS and MYTH BUSTER 56

CMAAO CORONA FACTS and MYTH BUSTER 56

Dr K K Aggarwal

President Confederation of Medical Associations of Asia and Oceania, HCFI and Past National President IMA

587:  Immune boosters

AYUSH Ministry	Modern Medicine
Drink warm water	Ginger Lukewarm water is detoxifying. The consumption of soft drinks and other sweetened beverages (fruit drinks, sports drinks, and energy drinks) is a major source of added refined sugar and calories in the diet and should be discouraged.
Daily practice Yoga asana, Pranayama and meditation for at least 30 minutes	Learn Progressive muscular relaxation and mindfulness meditation. Avoid sympathetic and deep nasal and chest exhalation exercises during the COVID era. Most breathing techniques are designed to prolong exhalation and decrease minute ventilation. Pranayama, or yoga breathing exercises, emphasizes deep respiration with slow exhalation. Do Yoga. It is a practice of breathing, mindfulness, spirituality, body, and the connection among these factors. Through its three main components (postures, breathing, and meditation), as well as nonspecific events, yoga appears to be safe and to improve multiple parameters of health and quality of life. Mindfulness is defined as "paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally" Basic elements include self-regulation of attention and   taking a non-judgmental stance towards one’s experience Lockdown is the best time to stop smoking, tobacco consumption and stop of limit alcohol intake.
Spices like Haldi (Turmeric), Jeera (Cumin), Dhaniya (Coriander) and Lahsun (Garlic) in cooking.	Take 1.      2000 units of vitamin D daily 2.       Vegetarians take B12 3.      Patients with allergies take Vitamin C 4.      High-risk individuals take pneumonia, flu vaccines. 5.      Consume five or more servings of fruits and/or vegetables daily. They are a rich source of fiber, and fruit/vegetable consumption is inversely associated with risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and mortality. 6.      Replace refined grains (white bread, white rice, refined and sweetened cereals) with whole grains (eg, whole-wheat bread, brown rice, whole-grain cereals or oatmeal), which have a higher content of fiber and other nutrients 7.      Trans fatty acid consumption should be kept as low as possible by limiting foods such as partially hydrogenated oils, which are found in stick margarine and in many store-bought, processed, and fast foods. 8.      Moderate intake of red and processed meats and to eat a variety of healthy protein-rich foods, including seafood, lean meat (such as poultry), eggs, beans, peas, soy products, and unsalted nuts and seeds. Consumption of red and processed meats is associated with a moderate increase in mortality compared with consumption of white meat. 9.      Low-fat diet, vegetarian diets, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, and the Mediterranean diet are among the most commonly used diets to maintain good health, where weight loss is not necessarily the primary goal. These diets are associated with health benefits. However, it is not known which type of diet is optimal for the general population. The decision to choose one of these diets is generally based on individual risk factors, personal preference, and the ability to adhere to a given diet.
Chyavanprash 10gm daily. Diabetics should take sugar-free Chyavanprash.	Take a mix of all seven colours and six tastes in the diet. All six tastes are present in kitchen spices. Recommended dietary sodium intake for the general population is less than 6 g of sodium chloride. Low sodium intake is associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular events, including death.
Drink herbal tea / decoction (Kadha) made from Tulsi (Basil), Dalchini (Cinnamon), Kalimirch (Black pepper), Shunthi (Dry Ginger) and Munakka (Raisin) - once or twice a day. Add jaggery (natural sugar) and / or fresh lemon juice to your taste, if needed	Herbal teas, black coffee, green tea, black tea are antioxidants. Limit white sugar and instead add Jaggery, honey or stevia.
Golden Milk- Half tea spoon Haldi (turmeric) powder in 150 ml hot milk - once or twice a day.	Turmeric has TNF blocker like anti-inflammatory action [ Br J Pharmacol. 2013 Aug;169(8):1672-92]
Apply sesame oil / coconut oil or Ghee in both the nostrils (Pratimarsh Nasya) in morning and evening.	Keep nose, eyes, and mouth moist with saline water to avoid any irritation. Use tear eye drops for dry eyes due to computer use. After every 20 minutes of computer do eye exercise for 20 seconds.
Oil pulling therapy- Take 1 tablespoon sesame or coconut oil in mouth. Do not drink, Swish in the mouth for 2 to 3 minutes and spit it off followed by warm water rinse. This can be done once or twice a day.	Povidone-iodine or warm saline or turmeric hot saline gargles
For dry cough: Dry cough / sore throat: Steam inhalation with fresh Pudina (Mint) leaves or Ajwain (Caraway seeds) can be practiced once in a day. Lavang (Clove) powder mixed with natural sugar/honey can be taken 2-3 times a day in case of cough or throat irritation.	Suppression of cough is important. Stop smoking. Anti-allergic and non-opioid dextromethorphan. Benzonatate can be added if the cough persists despite dextromethorphan. For patients who have a cough due to an unrelenting cause or a persistent cough despite both specific therapy and nonspecific therapy with non-opioid agents, give a trial of opioid antitussive Codeine. Gabapentin and pregabalin are alternative, symptomatic treatments for patients whose cough is refractory to the above measures In cough of more then 3-8 weeks further  evaluation needs to be done for postnasal discharge, TB, acid reflux, asthma, anti-BP drugs like ACE inhibitors etc, Acute cough exists for less than three weeks and is most commonly due to an acute respiratory tract infection. Other considerations include acute exacerbation of underlying chronic pulmonary disease, pneumonia, and pulmonary embolism. Cough that has been present longer than three weeks is either subacute (three to eight weeks) or chronic (more than eight weeks). Among patients with chronic cough, women tend to cough more often and to have heightened cough reflex sensitivity compared to men.