TIRUPATTUR: It was a large compound filled with trees and a herbal garden. The air brushing off the herbs lent a ‘healing touch’ to the patients While some had been listening to music or watching TV programmes, a few others were having a sip of steamy soup to clear the gut of any irritations.
This is a normal daily scene at a Siddha special COVID care centre run in Tiruppattur. The people, who were down with the COVID-19 rarely felt the pangs of such a dreaded pandemic, because of the way they were looked after at the care centre by a group of Siddha doctors and support staff.
From July 16 to December 6, as many as 625 COVID-positive patients were treated successfully using Siddha medicines, herbal concoctions and soups, claim the officials here. The man behind the successful treatments of the patients at the care centre is Dr Vikram Kumar, who has a post-graduate degree in Siddha medicine. “It was a great experience because we had no history of such a virus attack. So we had to spend a lot of time examining the patients for symptoms and difficulties they had and treat accordingly,” he said.
The 34-year-old Siddha specialist had even sent his family back to their native town during the period when the virus was at its peak so that he could fully dedicate his time to the treatment of patients. “If I attend the patients continuously, I had to go under quarantine before getting back with my family. It would take a longer period. So, I sent my family to the native place,” said Vikram Kumar. He played a crucial role in holding a clinical trial of Siddha medicine for the treatment of COVID with due permission from the Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI).
“With the guidance and support of the collector, we concluded the clinical trial successfully. The findings of the trial have been sent for expert perusal and will be published soon,” he noted. Apart from medicines, a regimen of diet comprising herbal soups, naatu kozhi soup (country chicken soup), breathing exercises, steam inhalation, and yoga was part of the treatment.
Reports of the country chicken soup made as an improvised concoction with the herbal powders served to COVID patients down with cold and cough went viral on social media, along with videos of Dr Vikram Kumar dancing with patients while sending them off after treatment.