Siliguri physician uses Ayurveda to treat Covid-19, to great effect
India’s worsening Covid-19 situation has left many of us anxious and struggling to cope with grief and loss. Our only hope at this time is medical science, understandably, and that is completely justified. However, one little health sub-center in Siliguri’s Fansideoa block is providing an alternative to mainstream medicine by taking the ayurvedic route. And Covid patients are reaping the benefits.
Originally from Jhargram, Dr Kar was fascinated with Ayurveda as a child. One of his ancestors was the legendary Madhab Kar, immortalised in Ayurvedic medicine for his ‘Madhab Nidan’.
Dr Soumyadeep Kar, Ayurvedic Medical Officer of the Liusipukuri Government Health Sub-Center told us that since onset of the first Covid-19 wave last year, he has treated more than 30 Covid patients, who went from ‘positive’ to ‘negative’ under his care. A large number of his patients interacted with him online, including many from Kolkata. Among his patients are a family in the city’s Bhawanipur area with seven Covid-positive members, a few elderly among them, who are now back to normal.
But of course, he has had to see patients offline too, including those with Covid symptoms. He himself has had to undergo the Covid test several times, testing negative each time. How has he managed to avoid being infected while colleagues and doctors all around him have fallen victim to the virus? Dr Kar says, “I don’t really know, but ever since Covid entered our lives, I have been drinking a special tea every morning, mixing 5 gm of ginger powder and 250 mg of coriander powder in lukewarm water. This creates a virus-resistant environment within the body.”
Other than that, he advises regular doses of chyawanprash in the morning, as well as ashwagandha (Indian ginseng), gulancha (giloy), darchini (cinnamon), yashtimadhu (liquorice) tablets. However, all of this must be under medical supervision, and basic Covid protocol such as washing hands, social distancing, and sanitizing must still be obeyed.
Dr Soumyadeep Kar, Ayurvedic Medical Officer of the Liusipukuri Government Health Sub-Center told us that since onset of the first Covid-19 wave last year, he has treated more than 30 Covid patients, who went from ‘positive’ to ‘negative’ under his care.
Originally from Jhargram, Dr Kar was fascinated with Ayurveda as a child. One of his ancestors was the legendary Madhab Kar, immortalised in Ayurvedic medicine for his ‘Madhab Nidan’. Having joined the Fansideoa health centre in 2007, he has focused particularly on bodily aches and pains, even operating upon patients if required. In order to accommodate the poorer sections of society, he has conducted village health camps for as little as Rs 50 per patient.
His view of Ayurveda is that it is one of India’s oldest time-tested methods of medicine. “It is a science you cannot ignore. Before allopathy, it was Ayurveda which people turned to. There have been epidemics in the past, too, all treated with Ayurveda,” he says.
