People are trying traditional/herbal medicine to fight the coronavirus – News Landed

With no medicines available against COVID-19, it is seen that a lot of people are switching towards alternative medicine as a possible source of cure for the disease. This is more pronounced in countries like China and India, where the traditional methods of medicines are valued by the population. This is raising criticism among various field professionals regarding the reliability of such therapies.

When the disease broke out initially in India, the government claimed that such therapies might be key to the cure. Similarly, China said that the traditional way of medicine might help to fight the virus. These statements gave rise to debates and speculations all around the globe. Responding to this, the WHO advised people not to rely on traditional medicines. It also later added that some people are turning towards traditional medicine to reduce the symptoms of the disease.

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It is also seen that some WHO experts welcome the move of traditional medicines. WHOs emergency chief added that rigorous studies on traditional medicines would be like any other drug. He also said that many studies are already underway in China trying to combat the disease. However, we need enough evidence to prove such therapy or medicine is effective against the virus. Even the U.S. National Institutes of Health warned people against choosing alternative medicine over current medicinal therapies.

India is one of the major countries that gives importance to traditional medicine. Ayurveda is a major branch of alternative medicine, which is based on herbal preparations and dietary modifications. In addition, there also exist minor ways of alternative medicine called the Siddha and the Unani. The Indian government issued a set of guidelines that could enhance immunity. With criticism rising, the government later announced that they are just suggesting ways to boost immunity and not a way to cure the disease. Also, later the Ayush ministry ordered all the states to stop publicity of promising cures due to the alternative therapies.

Similarly, the Chinese government claims that a combination of alternative medicine and conventional medicine has helped the country to fight the disease. The countrys national health mission said it was treating people with herbal medicines to reduce symptoms. Also, it said that it was recommending herbal soup preparations for detoxifying lungs in affected people. While the Chinese government is making such a claim, there is no mention of any traditional medicine reports in journals and literature. Only the established conventional therapies are used to review and study the cases.

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Although traditional therapies have proven to exist for centuries curing various diseases, one should see that to treat and combat modern diseases. We need evidence that such therapies are reliable. While cultural sentiments are also valuable, we need to see that saving lives is more important with resources we have rather than making claims which lack support.

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Source: Associated Press