COVID-19-affected family treated at home through integrative approach: Upbringing the concept of ayurvedic family physician for COVID cluster management

Abstract

The second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India had been highly devastating to the family and community clusters. It has simultaneously affected many within a close community including the family and has posed unique issues related to health care. A pan India disruption in hospital-based health-care delivery during the second wave has increased the trouble manifolds in cases where many members of the family were simultaneously affected. Family physicians through online consultations have played crucially to navigate the family from this grim situation. During prevailing uncertainty of availability of dependable hospital-based care, most people remained bound to home care following the advice of their respective physicians. Ayurveda family physicians also have played decisively in this phase. This is observed that the families treated in an integrative mode utilizing the standard home care recommendations along with standard Ayurveda care as per the Ayurveda physicians' recommendations, got benefitted most. As is shown in the case under study, all patients in the family cluster suffering from SARS-CoV-2 infection, recovered completely in a short span and, despite brief episodes of lowered oxygen in between, did not require any hospitalization. This observation highlights the importance of Ayurveda family practice during the current pandemic and warrants more serious studies to define the role and impact of Ayurveda family practice during the pandemic.