Coronavirus: Myths and fake news busters

— By Dr KK Aggarwal

Can Nasya prevent respiratory viral infections?

In Ayurveda Nasya is putting two-three drops of sesame/ mustard/ anu/ shadabindu oil in each nostril and sniffing it in will not only lubricate the nasal passage and throat but also strengthen the inner mucus membrane to keep away foreign bodies. Weather it kills corona we have no evidence but lubricated oil will not allow nasal irritation in patients with nasal allergy and will prevent them from touching their nose again and again. The same effect will be seen with saline nasal drips and saline nasal wash.

Can ibuprofen cause corona illness?

No: “A friend of hers, who was a doctor at the university hospital of Vienna, had called her with a warning, she said in German. The clinic had noticed that most patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus pandemic, had taken the painkiller ibuprofen before they were hospitalized. Tests run by the university’s laboratory, she added, had found “strong evidence that ibuprofen accelerates the multiplication of the virus.”

“Nonsense,” said Johannes Angerer, a spokesperson for the Medical University of Vienna. “We neither discussed this internally nor do we conduct any research into the potential effects of ibuprofen on COVID-19.”

Patients should stop ACE Inhibitors

No. This speculation about the safety of ACE-i or ARB treatment in relation to COVID-19 does not have a sound scientific basis or evidence to support it. Indeed, there is evidence from studies in animals suggesting that these medications might be rather protective against serious lung complications in patients with COVID-19 infection, but to date, there is no data in humans.

The Council on Hypertension of the European Society of Cardiology wish to highlight the lack of any evidence supporting harmful effect of ACE-I and ARB in the context of the pandemic COVID-19 outbreak.

The Council on Hypertension strongly recommends that physicians and patients should continue treatment with their usual anti-hypertensive therapy because there is no clinical or scientific evidence to suggest that treatment with ACEi or ARBs should be discontinued because of the Covid-19 infection.

Can cow urine cure CORONA?

Chemotherapeutic Potential of Cow Urine: A Review

Gurpreet Kaur Randhawa 1, Rajiv Sharma 2 J Intercult Ethnopharmacol, Apr-Jun 2015

It has no proven antiviral effect.

Abstract: In the grim scenario where presently about 70% of pathogenic bacteria are resistant to at least one of the drugs for the treatment, cue is to be taken from traditional/indigenous medicine to tackle it urgently. The Indian traditional knowledge emanates from Ayurveda, where Bos indicus is placed at a high pedestal for numerous uses of its various products. Urine is one of the products of a cow with many benefits and without toxicity. Various studies have found good antimicrobial activity of cow’s urine (CU) comparable with standard drugs such as ofloxacin, cefpodoxime, and gentamycin, against a vast number of pathogenic bacteria, more so against Gram-positive than negative bacteria. Interestingly antimicrobial activity has also been found against some resistant strains such as multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia. Antimicrobial action is enhanced still further by it being an immune-enhancer and bioenhancer of some antibiotic drugs. Antifungal activity was comparable to amphotericin B. CU also has anthelmintic and antineoplastic action. CU has, in addition, antioxidant properties, and it can prevent the damage to DNA caused by environmental stress. In the management of infectious diseases, CU can be used alone or as an adjunctive to prevent the development of resistance and enhance the effect of standard antibiotics.