Rational ayurvedic approach to management of covid-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 is an ongoing public health emergency, in the form of a pandemic, due to a novel cause. While the treatment of this illness is being sought rigorously worldwide, Currently there is no established cure for it. Elaborate understanding of COVID-19 through roga pariksha (~examining and analysing the disease) methods as described in literature of ayurveda, the traditional system of medicine of the Indian subcontinent, can prove a useful step in finding its cure. Ayurveda has a huge number of remedies, belonging to different class of agents such ojo vardhak, bala vardhak (~immuno modulators), bhutaghna and vishaghna (~antimicrobial), jwaraghna (~anti-inflammatory and antipyretics), including therapeutic modalities for complicated or refractory respiratory illnesses (~daruna shwasahara yoga). This article makes an attempt at describing clinical stages of COVID-19 through ayurvedic rationale as jwara prabhava (~mild illness), shwasa purvaroopa (~non-severe pneumonia), shwasa (~severe penumonia), pravriddha shwasa/daruna shwasa (~ARDS), whilst recognising the arishta lakshan (~fatal clinical features) and designing a reasonable step wise management protocol for each. Ayurvedic approach towards COVID-19 opens the door for multitude of promising therapeutic modalities, which can be used scientifically with proper assessment of outcome measures. While this approach seems logical and clinically relevant, ayurveda too has its strengths and limitations, just like any other field of science or non-science arena. While Vaidyas of olden times had a rational approach to work their way around certain limitations, the times have changed and overcoming the same in current scenario is yet to be warranted. Nonetheless, ayurveda is a perennial source of knowledge with a lot to offer that has the potential to restore mankind from state of dis-ease to that of a healthy ease.