Health ministry issues guidelines for recovered COVID-19 patients to boost immunity

The Ministry of Health on Sunday issued a set of guidelines for patients who have recovered from coronavirus. The Centre said regular intake of warm water, moderate exercise and having Ayush ministry-prescribed immunity booster medicines like Ayush Kwath, Mulethi powder, and Chyawanprash can be helpful in faster full recovery among COVID-19 patients.

The use of Chyawanprash in the morning (1 teaspoonful) with lukewarm water or milk is highly recommended, under the direction of registered Ayurveda physician, the Ministry of AYUSH said. It added Chyawanprash consumption is believed to be effective in the post-recovery period.

"COVID-19 disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus is relatively a new disease, with fresh information being known on a dynamic basis about the natural history of the disease, especially in terms of post-recovery events," the ministry said.

After acute COVID-19 illness, recovered patients may continue to report a wide variety of signs and symptoms including fatigue, body ache, cough, sore throat, difficulty in breathing, etc. "As of now there is limited evidence of post-COVID sequelae and further research is required and is being actively pursued," said the ministry.

Also read: Coronavirus in India: 94,372 new cases, 1,114 deaths in 24 hours; recoveries rise from 50,000 in May to 36 lakh in Sept

Here are the post-COVID follow-up protocol guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health.

At the individual level:

•     Continue use of mask, hand and respiratory hygiene, physical distancing.
•     Drink an adequate amount of warm water.
•     Take immunity promoting AYUSH medicine after proper prescription.
•     If health permits, regular household work can be done. People can also resume professional work in a graded manner.
•     Moderate exercise, including yoga, pranayama and meditation.
•     Breathing exercises, daily morning or evening walk, balanced nutritious diet, adequate sleep and rest.
•     Avoid smoking and consumption of alcohol, and take regular medications as advised for COVID.
•     Self-health monitoring at home - temperature, blood pressure, blood sugar.
•     Look for warning signs like high-grade fever, breathlessness, unexplained chest pain, new onset of confusion, focal weakness.

Also read: No carelessness till COVID-19 medicine is developed: PM Modi

At the level of community:

•     Recovered individuals should share their positive experiences with
•     friends and relatives using social media and other platforms.
•     Take the support of community-based self-help groups, civil society organisations, and qualified professionals during the recovery process.
•     Seek psycho-social support from peers, community health workers, and counsellor.

In the healthcare facility setting:

The first follow-up visit should be in 7 days after discharge.

Subsequent treatment should be with the nearest qualified allopathic/AYUSH practitioner/medical facility of other systems of medicine. Poly-therapy should be avoided due to the potential for unknown drug-drug interaction.

The patients who had undergone home isolation, if they complain of persisting symptoms, should visit the nearest health facility.

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Immunity promoting AYUSH medicine (to be prescribed by practitioners only):

• Ayush Kwath (150 ml; 1 cup) daily.
• Samshamani vati twice a day 500 mg (1gm per day) or Giloy powder 1 -3 gm with lukewarm water for 15 days.
• Ashwagandha 500 mg twice a day (1 gm per day) or Ashwagandha powder 1-3 gm twice daily for 15 days.
• Amla fruit one daily/Amla powder 1-3 gm once daily.
• Mulethi powder (in case of dry cough) 1- 3 gm with lukewarm water twice daily.
• Warm milk with 1/2 teaspoonful haldi in (morning/evening).
• Gargling with turmeric and salt.
• Chyawanprash 1 teaspoonful (5 mg) once daily in the morning.

Meanwhile, India's COVID-19 case tally continues to rise at an unprecedented pace and has touched 47,54,357, including 78,586 deaths.  However, the health ministry has said India's COVID-19 recoveries have also witnessed a steep exponential rise -- from 50,000 in May to over 36 lakhs in September, which means around 70,000 recoveries on an average were reported every day. Recoveries are nearly 3.8 times the active cases and under 1/4 of the total coronavirus cases reported so far, the government says.

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