ABSTRACT:
Coronavirus disease also termed as COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 infection has been declared as global pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO).The COVID-19 infection has emerged 210 countries. In such a crisis, prevention of further spread of infection is the best possible containment approach being advocated by WHO and other health agencies . Homoeopathic medicines are best medicine for immune boosting effect. Homoeopathic medicines role in the prevention of viral infection. The Genus Epidemics has been used during various disease out breaks for preventing the spread of disease like cholera, dengue fever etc.with good results. The Ministry of Ayurveda,Yoga & Naturopathy,Unani,Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) have suggested the use of Arsenicum album-30 for its possible role in preventing COVID-19 infection.
KEYWORDS:
Arsenicum album
COVID-19
Homoeopathy
Immunity
SARS-COV-2
INTRODUCTION:
Corona virus disease is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus also termed as COVID-19 or Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-COV-2). It has been declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11,2020.
The COVID-19 infection has already spread over 210 countries and territories around the world.
This is a respiratory disease and virus spread primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
CLINICAL PICTURE:
As per currently available evidence, almost 80%of COVID-19 infected patients will develop mild to moderate symptoms with an incubation period of 1 to 14 days and recover without requiring special treatment.
It is also observed that many asymptomatic infected patients are present which could either progress to the diseased or act as a carrier. People who have underlying medical conditions and those over 60years old have a higher risk of developing severe disease and adverse outcomes.
Common Symptoms of COVID-19 infection include fever,dry cough,throat pain/ itching. Other symptoms bodyache, headache, shortness of breath. Rarely diarrhoea,nausea or runny nose can also be seen.
Confirmatory diagnosis depends on the laboratory testing for COVID-19 either by confirming virus presence or by analyzing the specific antibodies produced in response to infection.
Most of the countries recommend Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) for initial screening which detects the coronavirus Ribonucleic acid(RNA). The confirmatory test is used to identify very recent or active infections. The test is done on respiratory samples such as a nasopharyngeal swab or sputum sample. Additionally, specific antibodies detection (serology) is useful both for diagnosis and population surveillance mainly during later stage of infection.
MANAGEMENT OF COVID-19:
At this time, there are no specific established treatments or vaccines available for COVID-19. As the world struggles to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,WHO’s standard recommendations for the public to minimize exposure to and transmission of a range of illnesses.
This includes personal and respiratory hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, boosting immunity and identification and quarantine of suspected or confirmed cases.
ROLE OF HOMOEOPATHY:
The preventive aspect of homoeopathy is well known for many ailments including viral infections. Historically, Homoeopathy gained prominence following its usefulness for the management of the epidemics of cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, diphtheria, Spanish influenza, scarlet fever etc. This concept of prevention and treatment of epidemic disease was first put forward by Samuel Hahnemann in Organon of Medicine 5th edition in aphorism 102 ,” the whole extent of such an epidemic disease and the totality of its symptoms ( the knowledge whereof, which is essential for enabling us to choose the most suitable homoeopathic remedy for this array of symptoms, is obtained by a complete survey of morbid picture) is ascertained from the suffering of several patients of different constitutions.
The Genus Epidemics (GE) is the remedy selected through observation of several cases of epidemic disease and analyzing the symptomatology of those cases for the most indicated medicine. It was reported that during the recent past GE had been used during various disease outbreaks for preventing the spreading of diseases like cholera, chikungunya, dengue fever with good results.
Considering the clinical success in these severe viral diseases, Homoeopathy as an adjuvant to the standard of care should be explored in the management of COVID-19 patients.
The Health advisory is given by The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) against coronavirus infection included homoeopathic medicine Arsenicum album-30 as a possible preventing measure for flu- like illness such as coronavirus infection. Scientific Advisory Board of CCRH confirmed that the same medicine has been advised for the prevention of Influenza- like Illness. It is noteworthy that Arsenicum album is common homoeopathic remedy prescribed in the cases of respiratory infections in day to day practice.
Pharmacologically, the Arsenicum album as one of the constituents in a formulation has been shown to act upon HT29 cells and human macrophages. Also, It showed an inhibitory effect on NF-kB hyperactivity and inhibition of TNF-à release in macrophages. Similar to prevention, Homoeopathic medicines used for flu- like symptoms and have a long established traditional usage over many years such as Gelsemium, Arsenicum, Phosphorus and Bryonia etc.should also be explored as one of the treatment options for the COVID-19 patients. This shall be applied following the basic principles of homoeopathy as a holistic therapy in addition to the other standard of care currently advocated for COVID-19 patients.
CONCLUSION:
With no established conventional specific treatment or vaccine available for COVID-19 infection, experience based Homoeopathy medicine should be considered along with the multidisciplinary treatment approach. Although the use of Homoeopathy medicine by us showed promising effects in the prevention of COVID-19 infection in clinical settings, control randomized trials need to be conducted to confirm the findings.
