Ayurvedic treatment of COVID-19: A case report

This is the first known case of a Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) positive patient treated entirely with Ayurveda. So far in Modern Western Medicine (MWM), no cure has been found which is specific to COVID-19. The only literature relevant to the treatment of Coronavirus disease has surfaced from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM which was extensively used to control the epidemic in China, also consists of herbal medicines similar to Ayurveda. In this case, the patient, who was familiar with the use of Ayurvedic medicines, fully aware that no proven cure exists in MWM, decided to entirely rely on the limited Ayurvedic medicines that he had in his possession at the time of falling ill. Despite the patient presenting with symptoms, namely high fever, severe body pain and severe cough, along with many of the other associated symptoms of COVID-19, the progress of the disease could be arrested within a short period by being exclusively on Ayurvedic medicines. This illustrates that there is a wide scope to explore the variety of pertinent medicines present in Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia which can be used more rationally to suit every stage of the disease. Being the first-of-its-kind it is a valuable contribution to scientific literature from the world of Ayurveda. This should encourage the healthcare policy makers to quickly use Ayurveda to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control in India, as they seemed to have demonstrated it in China with TCM.