Quacks offer instant relief ‘pudi’ as chikungunya spreads tentacles across city

Nagpur: In an alarming trend, quacks are working over time offering instant relief from the severe joint pain seen in chikungunya and viral fever patients these days. As modern medicine doesn't offer a specific treatment for chikungunya and the protocol is based on symptoms, many citizens are looking for alternative pathies to heal themselves of the persistent pain. TOI has come across a couple of instances where quacks are claiming to treat chikungunya patients using a ‘pudi', a sachet containing unknown ash-like powder.Speaking to TOI, a Mahal-based farsan shop owner said he has a 14-day course and patients have to take one pudi in a cup of water every day to get cured. The confectioner said he is getting the supply from an undisclosed location in Andhra Pradesh.Asked if he has any formal training in modern or ayurvedic medicine, the quack said he is a heart patient and had come across this ‘pudi' some years ago for joint pains. "As it provided relief to me, I started recommending it to others. Recently, when chikungunya started spreading, I offered it to some known persons and gradually word of mouth brought more people into my contact," he said.Over 200 patients have consumed the ‘pudi', the 55-year-old man said. "Patients from as far as Hingna and other parts of the city are coming to seek the pudi," he said.Medical practitioners have warned against the consumption of such material without knowing its content. Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) medical officer (health) Dr Deepak Selukar said patients suffering from any disease should take treatment from a registered medical practitioner only.Dr Avinash Gawande, a community medicine specialist, said unsupervised consumption of such powder may cause neurological complications. "Basically, such people make powder of allopathic medicines which should be prescribed as primary treatment. Patients get instant relief but to take them without the supervision of a qualified medical practitioner puts people at huge risk," he said.